High School DxD - Naruto of the Radiance
by Windfall39
Summary: There were many things in the world that people often dub as 'strange' or 'mysterious'. There were some 'normal' things people are already used to, yet can still be considered 'strange' when looked at in a certain way. Like say, being enlisted as an Exorcist for the Church? Weird stuff happens all the time to people like Naruto and his friends. AU. Harem.
1. Start of a New Adventure

**Start of a New Adventure**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or High School DxD.**

**Quick A/N: **Whatever high expectations you have for this story is better thrown out the window. I'm still fairly new to writing, thus, I will **not** guarantee that this will be **completely** different from the majority of the stories in this category. But, if you are still interested despite that, then read on... or at least the AN at the end of the chapter for a better explanation. In fact, I recommend you read the A/N at the bottom, at least up to the point before I talk about myself.

* * *

There were many things in the world that people often dub as 'strange' or 'mysterious'. Most think this is limited only to supernatural phenomenon, but in reality, there were some 'normal' things people are already used to, yet can still be considered 'strange' when looked at in a certain way. Take dreams for instance. And no, I don't mean the one about ambitions or goals for the future, I mean the one when we sleep.

People have cooked up many theories for why the involuntary mental action occurs. The most common is that it relates to our psyche before sleep, like ideas and emotions. Which is the most favored theory, considering how most dream worlds are made with those ideas or emotions. Others theorize that it was some kind of deity or the dead sending them messages, like prophecies of things to come, but those who follow that ideology are very uncommon in this day and age.

Indeed, dreams have become such a 'normal' thing to most people, that barely few remembered that it was still incomplete in explanation, just that it's there and now a 'normal' part of their lives. Now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with anything, right?

Simple. I'm currently experiencing a dream. Not just any dream, mind. But a dream that has repeatedly shown up in my dream scape more than a few times. Not only that, it was very vivid as far as images were concerned. But sadly, it didn't hold true for complete details. Do you want to hear about it? As I lie here on my bed, with my consciousness somewhere in between both asleep and awake, a few hours before I have to wake up properly, I guess I can tell you.

You won't mind, right?

I know it may sound like some cheesy romance novel, but it was about a girl. I may be a healthy growing boy, but I can assure you that it's not one of 'those' dreams. Just had to make sure we're clear on that. Okay, back on topic. She was, at first glance, a completely normal girl, a bit cute in my opinion, but maybe that's because I like the combination of her hair and eyes that was near similar to my own. The dream was very simple nature, it was just her watching the sky and the clouds pass by. The scenery sometimes changed, but not much else, she could be standing on a roadside, walking barefoot on the beach, sitting under a tree, or lying down on a mat in a grassy field. Mixed and matched differently each time.

But the next part is what I found really strange. Since dreams are often seen through our dream-self's eyes, we can say that we ourselves are experiencing the dream. I know there's a scientific term for it, but for the life of me, I can't remember right now. Moving on, this girl would then turn her head to face me, a warm and gentle smile on said face, her mouth moving as if speaking, yet no words becoming audible to my ears. She turns her body fully, before a pair of beautiful, white, feathered wings erupt from her back and she ascends before disappearing into the sky.

Each and every time, I feel like I want to reach out and grab her hand in a vain attempt to keep her grounded. I don't know why, but the first few times it happened, my heart always ached for some unexplainable reason. It still does every time, even as I try to reach out for her. She was so close and yet so very far. It was then and there that I would suddenly find myself awake, sprung up or otherwise, and with a fresh batch of tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes.

I would say my memories were fragmented, but that was unlikely. I was sure I never met her in my life and I was just 11 years old right now, yet the girl and her loving, cute smile that always seemed to be directed at me looked like she was in her mid-teens, I'd say around 16 years old. But I couldn't really tell. There was so many different kinds of magic out there, that the possibility of an appearance altering one is not completely farfetched.

You heard right. Magic exists. I won't get too much into explaining it, since like I said, there were many different kinds. But I will say that Magic isn't the only thing strange about this world. There was also the presence of other supernatural things, they were well-concealed to the general populace, but not to a family that was aware of them like mine. Like with Magic, let's not get too into it, and talk about the ones that concern me.

My family, or rather, my adoptive family was Christian, specifically of the Protestant denomination. Thus, we were knowledgeable of Judeo-Christian lore, like Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, the Holy Trinity and all that. Yup, you got it. Those all exist in this world. Since my father was a priest like his father before him, we were affiliated with the Church in more than just the two of them performing clerical work. Even then, I already knew this world was strange before I was adopted.

I used to be a person that had access to a strange power called 'chakra', an energy source that was a mix of both my Physical and Spiritual Energy. It could do a lot of things, but it hardly mattered anymore since I couldn't even access or call it up. There was that, and I was sure that I was 16 years old, and facing what could be considered a God in our world. I couldn't remember much else after that other than rainfall.

Keep in mind, though I remember my past life, 'Girl in the Sky' was still a complete mystery to me. She wasn't someone I knew even back then. So yeah, my memory really is fragmented. Sorry, sorry~.

If you don't mind, I'd like to get an hour or so more of sleep. Honestly, these dreams should happen more during the hours before I have to wake up, not in the middle of the night.

Later.

* * *

If there was a dreadful way of waking up, I wouldn't like it to happen to me anytime soon. Why? Well, what's better than having a cute little sister to wake you up when you're in danger of oversleeping? I certainly don't mind. She was a wonderful bundle of energy that I would have loved having as a sibling back in my previous life. Though I have to admit, the way she's going about it recently is rather... odd. Still kinda cute, though.

"Big brother! Wake up~! You have a big day today!" I heard her voice say cheerfully, and judging by the sound of clothed feet tapping in a rhythm on the wood floor, she was doing an accompanying dance with it as she continued to call for me to wake up. Even if I was already partially awake. I felt a weight land on the edge of my bed that continued dancing from side to side. "Big bro, wake up! Please~!" She then began jostling my sheet-covered form when I willingly refused to move after her initial call.

"My darling little sister Caren..." I began from under the sheets. Judging by the 'Oh!' sound she made, I was successful in getting her attention.

"What is it my darling big brother?" She asked, in a mixture of curiosity and happiness that I was awake.

"Don't you know that to wake someone up, you have to kiss them?" Even with my eyes closed, I can practically picture her face right now. Undoubtedly blushing a cherry red color, looking away from the pillow where my head was supposed to be at, and just generally being adorable as she stammered to find words to respond with. Caren wasn't really resistant to being teased, not surprising since she's still a child. But even then, she was just like any normal little girl, having grown up being read fairy tales and the like before bedtime. Most times it was my adoptive mother who did it with me substituting in when she was feeling particularly unwell, and on rare occasions, my adoptive father.

"Hawawawa~... B-B-But big brother isn't a princess!"

"Who's to say a prince can't be in danger and awakened by a princess? Girls can be strong too, you know."

"I... um, well... okay." Caren mumbled, trying to gain some resolve. Just so you know, I didn't say that just cause. My machinations actually have a hidden motive in trying to get my little sister motivated to be strong in mind and body. The teasing is meant to increase her resistance to it and allow her to dish it out in turn. Empowering her by saying that women can be just as strong as men is to gradually give her a bit more of an independent mindset as she grows older. Not to overly feminist, but more on equality. At least, that's the aim I'm going for.

She got off from straddling my ankles and squirmed up to my head, where she pulled off the sheets that was covering it. Cracking an eye open, I smirked with a bit of satisfaction at my accurate assumption of my sister's red face. Feeling the airspace near my head get occupied, indicating that my sister leaned in to 'wake the prince', I initiated my playful plan by snapping my eyes wide open with an accompanying. "Boo!"

"Wah!" Caren squealed in surprise as she jumped into the air and landed back on my gut, foot first in what was basically a kick. I have a feeling any more sudden attempts at scaring her like that in the future would net me the same reaction time and again. "Big bro is so mean! You scared Caren!" She chided as she lightly pounded her tiny fists on my chest, referring to herself in the 3rd person for some extra cuteness.

"Nyahahaha~... Sorry about that, Caren. Big bro just finds my cute little sister so adorable is all~." I teased again with a cat-like smile, sitting up fully to show my once-again blushing sister that I was awake. She was a little girl with shoulder-length silver-white hair, hazel eyes that bordered on being gold, and a pale-but-not-unhealthy skin tone. She was a lot like her mother in terms of appearance, but was a lot more energetic overall. Granted, mother was said to be getting better health-wise ever since they adopted me. "Caren... You shouldn't have come into my room..." I began weakly, yet ominously. I was still feeling a bit playful, so don't take it the wrong way or anything.

"Huh? Why? What's wrong, big bro?" She asked with a curious tilt of her head. A habit she got from me whenever I was confused or curious like she was right now.

"I think I caught some sickness, Caren." I continued, faking a cough to continue my play. She asked me what sickness I was suffering from, wondering if she should get mother to check on me. "I think I have a virus..."

"I'll get Mama right away!" She said, moving to jump off my bed, but I quickly grabbed her hand to both emphasize my ploy and not bother mother with my ruse. "Big bro?"

"It's too late, Caren. The virus has already spread to my whole body... I can't control my actions anymore." I said with a shake of my head when she turned her attention back to me. I'll admit, seeing her eyes water wasn't something I liked seeing, but in a way, she'll be crying for a different reason once I get on with my play. "Listen to me, Caren... The least I can do is tell you about the virus, so you can prevent it from happening to others... okay?" She nodded her pretty little head fervently, trying to keep herself from crying like a fountain. I leaned up to tell her the 'secret' in her ear, as if it was some kind of world-changing answer. "This virus... it gives me the uncontrollable urge... to tickle my cute little sister!"

My hands were immediately upon my sister. No, I don't mean it in 'that' way, pervs. I meant that they were tickling her by making contact with the most common ticklish spots, like her belly or her sides. "Wahahaha~... Wait! Big bro, stop! I can't breathe! Wahahaha~!" Caren tried to get me to stop as I moved my assault to the soles of her feet, the dress socks she wore would make the sensation a lot more pronounced.

"If you can still talk, you can still breathe!" I replied in turn, continuing my lighthearted assault on my sister as she and I kept laughing. I wasn't pinning her down either, so she was able to tickle me a good bit as well. Our tickle fight went on for a little while since we had the time to spare, it's not like my school is going anywhere. Contrast to our rather loud laughter, I don't think the neighbors share our current sentiment though. "Give up yet, Caren?"

"Yes! No more, big bro! Caren gives up!" She answered with a few stray chuckles as she tried regaining her breath.

"Wrong answer!" I guess it was pretty crazy of me to instill a never-give-up attitude in my little sister so early in her life. But better a tickle fight rather than an actual life-or-death battle, right? Sadly, I couldn't continue even if I wanted to, since someone was knocking at the door.

Turning our calmed-down attention towards the door, the portal opened to reveal an older woman that was similar in appearance to Caren. She had neck-length, silver-white hair that was a bit messy all-over but was part of her charm, a similarly shaded hazel left eye, her right eye being covered by a medical eye-patch, and a pale skin tone that had some bandages wrapped around her at certain spots. This was my adoptive mother and a person I owed my life to, since she was the one who coerced my adoptive father into taking me in. Her name was Claudia Hortensia.

Like I said before, she was a bit weak in terms of physical health since she was born with a weakened immune system, but she has been getting a lot better ever since I came along. Initially, even the smallest of injuries was enough for her to be checked-in to a hospital for proper treatment, but that was now a thing of the past. Well, more like a rarer occurrence, since it does still happen from time to time. Don't ask me how, though. Since even I don't know.

Claudia gave a small smile to us, which we responded by giving her a simultaneous 'Good morning, Mother/Mama!' greeting, causing her to lightly giggle at the energetic response. "Good morning to you too, dears. Caren, come downstairs for some breakfast so your brother can get changed."

"Okay~!" Caren replied, slugging my arm with her tiny fist as she got off my bed. A non-verbal sign I got used to that basically said her determination on winning the next tickle fight when it happens. Naturally, I could only smirk challengingly at that. Yup, another gesture that had a hidden purpose. I'm not usually one for subtlety, but I prefer that rather than hammering my somewhat strange views to my adoptive sister. "See you at the table, big bro!"

Tossing the sheets to the side, I got off my bed and did 5 counts of different warm-ups before I fixed up my bed. Our family wasn't particularly affluent, so we had no maids, butlers or hired help to do things for us. And although Claudia was mostly a housewife, it was often up to me to do the more strenuous housework. Not that I minded, since it was good extra exercise.

"Naruto, are you alright?" I heard Claudia ask me in her motherly tone. While I loved Claudia as if she were my real mother, I would never want to forget about my first mother: Kushina either. Anyways, when I turned to her curiously, I saw her walk up to me and tenderly place her hand on my whiskered cheek. "You're looking a little pale today... is something the matter?" Sometimes, it was just so hard to look at her when she's close to me like this. Hey, I was mentally 16-17 years old, I'm not ashamed to admit that I think about pretty girls I meet every now and then. And I'm pretty sure that if I grew up with her alive, I would have gotten a small crush on Kushina as well.

Okay... This is getting awkward, let's move on. Shaking my head to get rid of my bad thoughts, I turned my head away with a light dusting of red, maintaining eye contact via the corner of my eyes. "Oh, it's nothing. I guess it's because I'm just a bit nervous." I excused, rather lamely at that, considering Claudia still maintained her concerned look. She always treated me as if I were her actual child, and showed me a lot of affection as I grew up, and because of this, I was pretty open to her about a lot of things, like my dreams of the Girl in the Sky. But not about my past life, mind. Hell, even I'm not sure if that life was real or just a dream too to be honest.

"Are you worried about not making any friends at your new school, Naruto?" She asked me, thankfully relenting from questioning me any further, since even I didn't know why I was a bit pale at the moment. Allow me to explain a bit of what's going on. A few years back, around the time I was adopted in the Kotomine/Hortensia household, my adoptive grandfather, Risei Kotomine said something about inducting me to the Church as an Exorcist for some reason. This is taking effect now, because it was the proper age to start my induction to the program, and because there was a ton of things happening with our family.

The program lasts for a few years, with the first year being bookwork education about the supernatural side of the world, and the rest turning into some kind of military boot camp. Not that it was any different from my previous life. Though, unlike my Ninja days, I was actually a lot different than my old self. I have my adoptive father, Kirei Kotomine, to thank for that. Having trained me in various things as I grew up in their care.

"Maybe a little." Answering with a half-lie is probably the best. To be honest, I just wasn't completely thrilled about the prospect of being an Exorcist for the most part, since I'm not really a devout follower. Not to mention that I don't even know the Devils or the Fallen Angels individually to blindly judge them as wholly wicked. I mean, it would be just plain hypocritical of me if I did that, right? Plus, I'm kinda tired of fighting anyways.

"You'll do fine. Just be yourself, and you'll be making friends in no time. You're a naturally loving person, Naruto. I'm 100% certain that you'll make a friend on your first day." Claudia said with a soft smile, one I couldn't help but return with my own cheesy grin. Now that I think about it, I haven't really been going out of my way to make friends with other kids. I guess it's because I spend more time with my adoptive family, rather than other people. I'm not even sure I remember how I made my friends in my previous life. Anyways, Claudia leaned down and gave me a kiss on my forehead and a warm hug before letting me go on my way. "Now, go get changed and come down for breakfast. You wouldn't want to be running late now, would you?"

The woman turned around and exited my room, as I stood in place with a mild blush before shaking it off, grabbing my effects and heading to the bathroom down the hall. Downstairs, I could hear that Caren was watching an early morning show as she likely waited for me to get down there and join her before we go off on our separate ways for the day.

Switching on the lights, I turned on the faucet and washed my face and hair with the water. I already took a bath yesterday night anyway, so I didn't need to go for a full shower. Wiping my face with the towel I brought, I took time to gaze at my reflection in the mirror, a great contrast in terms of color to the rest of my family. Spiky, sunny-blonde hair with the makings of a short ponytail that Caren often likened to being like small bananas for some reason. Bright, blue eyes that resembled a warm summer sky that gave off a 'naive and innocent' vibe like that of a child's. Lightly-tanned skin tone that showed I spent a great deal of my free time outdoors, or outside a parasol's coverage. Six distinct lines on my cheeks, with three on each side that resembled animal whiskers, a side effect of developing in the womb of the Kyubi no Yoko's previous Jinchuriki before being made one myself.

My name is Naruto Hortensia, formerly Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village. I have acquired many titles over the course of my Ninja career, but do they really matter now that I can't even use my chakra?

I wouldn't know either.

* * *

There was just something about Kirei that seemed... 'off' to me. I don't know what it is specifically, but that was mostly the reason why I chose to take on mother's last name instead of 'Kotomine'. True, I could have kept 'Uzumaki' or even 'Namikaze', but I just felt like I wasn't a true part of the family if I kept my old surname. Anyways, Kirei just seemed so... detached from everyone else... even more so after Grandpa Risei died a few years back in some kind of archaic ritual the Magicians were performing.

He hid it well, but there was just some bad vibe about him that I felt but couldn't pinpoint the exact nature of. Truthfully, I wanted to understand and figure out what it is. Mother says that it was like some kind of existential crisis, but that wasn't enough to convince me. Nevertheless, I chose to set aside my suspicions and just let things take their course. Curiosity killed the cat and all that.

Don't get me wrong though. Despite my suspicions, Kirei and I treated each other rather normally. Well, as normal as having an Exorcist adoptive father that knows Chinese Martial Arts and can beat the crap out of people in a variety of ways can get. He didn't act... fatherly in the slightest. Not that it was a problem, since we treated each other more with mutual respect rather than like father and son. He was a strict teacher to both me and that tsundere girl he invites over at times for joint training.

So it came as no surprise to me that the gift he gave me before I was inducted into the Exorcist Training program was not something normal people give to 11 year old kids.

"An Azoth Sword..." I read aloud from the note included in the box he sent. I know what it was because that tsundere girl had her own, so I know it's a Magician's tool that was meant to strengthen their spells in various ways. It was actually more like a wand rather than a blade, but could still be used as such if need be. Had it been like those Black Keys thing he had, then it would have made more sense. I didn't really mind being gifted a weapon, since my armed fighting style was dual-wielding, but this at least enlightened me on the fact that Kirei likely knew I was practicing armed combat in secret, long enough to know my usual style.

"_Smooth..."_ I mused inwardly as I took the short-sword out of the box. I say this because of the fact that Kirei seemed to be a step ahead by changing it's palette and removing the 'AZOTH' inscription on the blade's flat side. Instead of a dark-purple, silver-edged blade that had an ornate hilt with a ruby on the pommel, this one sported a gold, silver-edged blade with a simple black hilt resembling a Black Key's and no gem. Granted, my knowledge on Azoth Swords was limited to my fellow pupil's own, so I don't really know if they come in different designs. The only reason I can tell it was an Azoth Sword as Kirei says is because I can feel the mana inside that is trying to synchronize it's energy wavelength with mine. _"At least it lessens the suspicion of holding a 'Heretic' tool."_

Oh well... No point in deliberating on the matter any further. Grabbing the plain black sheathe and placing the blade inside, I tuck it away in a luggage bag and bring the now-empty box with me downstairs to throw into the trash. It was a bit hard to maneuver properly, since there were cardboard boxes strewn about the house right now. You see, Kirei was working in the church Grandpa Risei used to work at in Japan, leaving me to take care of Claudia and Caren as the man of the house. But because Claudia was still recovering from her weak body and Caren was too young, they have to move with me to Rome, where my Exorcist Training is supposed to start.

Briefly exiting the house and throwing the used gift box in the collection bin at the curb, I spied some of our neighbors make a sour face aimed in my direction. They were the ones who just weren't 'morning' people, and it's not like this is the only time Caren and I had an early morning tickle fight. Don't get me wrong, they were good people. So I suppose it's just an adult thing.

Re-entering the house, I take a seat on the breakfast table and served myself a bowl of cereal. I didn't really need to pay attention to it, so I was able to watch whatever Caren was watching as my body automatically fed itself while my focus was on the television. It was just a rerun episode of that British show about some guy who had a time-traveling telephone booth. If I were completely honest, I'd love to have something like that. Of course, I wouldn't even think about changing the past, since I'm really happy with my life right now. No, I'm just gonna use it to find and fill out the blanks in my memory. Experiences are what make a person or something like that, and losing one's memory is like losing a part of yourself.

We continued breakfast with a bit of talking, mostly with Caren recounting her time in her old school. There wasn't really much for me or Claudia to talk about, since we were mostly homebodies, albeit begrudgingly for the latter. After we finished our food, I offered to do the final clean up for Claudia, so she could get changed and we can all get going.

To the start of a new chapter in our life.

* * *

Getting to Rome via plane doesn't really take long, just the hassle of customs and airport procedures making an illusion of a long and tedious wait. Claudia and Caren decided to head to our new home first, so they can get some unpacking done. While I headed off immediately to the Vatican district where I'm supposed to go for my orientation. Though sightseeing wasn't on my to do list until the weekend, I couldn't help but observe the blend of modern and old buildings in the city.

Even without its huge size, I bet the Colosseum would still stick out like a sore thumb in the city. It was still the same aged-yellow shade of stone as it was depicted in paintings. It really makes me wonder why nobody even tries to, I dunno... repair ruined landmarks or put them to actual use. It would certainly beat just taking space. I mean, I get the whole historic value, tourism and all. But in this day and age, don't people usually do things for practical reasons?

Whatever. I'm likely just thinking too much about this.

Once the cab I was in stopped, I paid the fare and stepped out of the vehicle, strapping the bag with a few of my basic school things around my shoulders. There is no way they would gather new entrants to the Exorcist Training Program out in the open of Piazza San Pietro, or Saint Peter's Square for those of you who don't know Italian. So my destination wasn't exactly the Vatican, but rather their former fortress-turned-museum, Castel Sant'Angelo or Castle of the Holy Angel. The only gripe I had with it was having to cross the bridge on my own, since mister cab driver said it was an experience in itself to walk across the stone bridge to get to the castle.

I don't know whether that's true or I had just been bamboozled.

Another good thing about being under Kirei's supervision was him teaching me in other languages. Of course, only the ones that matter to being an Exorcist, like English for general purposes and being able to talk to Claudia, a bit of Italian for when I inevitably came here, and refining my native tongue which is called Japanese in this world. Learning languages was tough, and I often got too frustrated with the complexity that I almost quit altogether. But Kirei did pound, both figuratively and literally, some patience and discipline in me, and when coupled with my perseverance, I managed to get at least one down swimmingly. Hence why I had no suffixes when I addressed Care-

"Kya!"

Feeling a weight collide with my back, I stop in my tracks and turn around to see the person that bumped into me. I was completely aware of my surroundings, mind you. It would just be plain strange if I didn't stop walking. I mean, this bridge was kinda long. Back on topic, the person that bumped into me was a young, fair-skinned chap, with short, light-brown hair and violet eyes. I would have written this person off as a boy, but I'm pretty sure 'Kya!' isn't an exclamation young boys make, at least I'm sure of that by 80%. I could still be wrong you know.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Ah, a fiery tomboy, I see. Normally, I would have snapped back with an obnoxious rebuttal that she bumped into me, but I just can't help but be... what's the word? 'Captivated'? Sure let's go with that. Captivated by her expectant violet eyes, they were a bit similar in shade to Kushina's own, so I guess that's why I couldn't bother myself with a rebuttal. Psychologists have theorized that people often subconsciously look for or find a partner that resembles their parent of the opposite gender in some way. "Well? How long are you just gonna stand there and stare at me?"

Oh, right. The whole 'help up the people you bump into' thing. I offer her my hand for her to take with an apologetic smile, which she did take after turning her head away with a reddened face. Great, now she was getting sick from probably accumulating bacteria by sitting on the pavement for a good few minutes already. "Sorry about that. But to be honest, you bumped into me, little miss."

"Don't call me little! You don't look any older than me!" She said again in her fiery tone. Well, maybe if we're just talking about 'looking' as old as you, then yeah, I guess I shouldn't. "Wait! You said 'Miss'?"

"Well, yeah. You are a girl, right?" I ask her rhetorically. "Unless... I'm mista-"

"No! No! No! I'm a girl! I'm a girl!" She replied in a hasty manner. What's with her? It's like being mistaken as a boy is a daily occurrence for her or something.

"Ah, I see." I reply in a neutral tone as I turned around to return on my trek to the Castel. Leaving her talking to herself for now. It may be a bit rude of me to do it this way, but honestly, this long trek across the bridge is taking a lot of my time as it is. I mean, I do have to get to the Castel in time for the opening ceremony and the orientation. Even though I know it's just gonna be some boring speech as is customary for things like that.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" I heard her shout from behind me. The fast echoes of her footsteps alerting me that she was running to catch up. "Wait! I said!"

I turned around with a neutral face and used my thumb to point to the Castel, a two-fold action that allowed her to somewhat catch up to me and tell her that I have things to do. "Sorry. It's just that I have somewhere to be."

"You're... You're going to be an Exorcist, too?" Curiosity and excitement were the vibes I was getting from the girl's question. That and she was looking at me with stars in her eyes for some reason. "I'm going to be an Exorcist myself!" I got that much from the 'too' she said earlier, kinda hard not to take note of it since talking to Kirei required being attentive to the words he uses and says, and discerning a possible hidden meaning. "Maybe we'll be classmates!"

"Huh, maybe." I answered equivocally. Kirei never really told me what to expect in the program, so I didn't exactly know if they followed a normal school formula for the first year or so. Just that the latter years are more like combat training.

"You're not much of a talker, whiskers." She commented, giggling when I made a very noticeable twitch at the nickname.

I spun on my heel to continue walking, with the little tomboy doing the same and keeping pace with me. "Don't call me that."

"Well I don't know your name, so it's either that or blondie until you decide to introduce yourself." She added, genuinely looking curious as she waited for my answer. At least she knew what she wanted.

"Name's Naruto... Naruto Hortensia." For some reason, she perked up when she heard my name. I just hope she doesn't link it to meaning 'Fishcake'. Great, now I'm hungry for some Ramen.

"'Naruto'? You're Japanese?" I gave a nod as my answer, elaborating that I was an adopted child to explain the mismatching surname. "That's great! I didn't think I'd be so lucky to meet a possible classmate that was Japanese on the first day~!" She paused from her walking to make a small prayer to God as thanks for her stroke of fortune. She then turned back to me with a cheerful smile and introduced herself, using our native Japanese instead of English. "My name is Shidou Irina. Nice to make your acquaintance, Naruto-kun!"

"Same here, Shidou-san." I said, following her lead by speaking to her in Japanese as well. It was a refreshing change of pace, since I've gotten so used to speaking in English even in my thoughts. Wait, '-kun'? Isn't that a bit hasty? Oh well... Not really a problem. Even with Kirei's tutelage, I wasn't one for formalities anyway. Don't be mistaken, I'm not the same obnoxious brat that had absolutely no respect for authority. I'll at least call you '-san' until I find out you've done something to lose my normal, base respect for you.

"Irina's fine." She said, returning to using English so as to not appear obnoxious to the passersby. It was a bit understandable, since most locals don't like it when a foreigner speaks in their native tongue. It makes them paranoid if the foreigner was talking smack about them or their country. "So, Fishcake. Why are you going to become an Exorcist?" A visible twitch at her mistake in interpreting my name's meaning made the tomboyish girl let out a giggle of amusement.

"Dunno. I was signed up as a kid by my Grandpa, but I don't really mind. And it means 'Maelstrom' not 'Fishcake'." Yup, definitely have to ask Claudia if we can have Ramen tonight. Moving on, I asked her what was her reasons for joining up with a simple, "You?"

"I'm doing it to follow in my parent's footsteps! They were Exorcists, too!" Irina said, looking at me curiously at the start before giving her own reasons for joining. She looked a bit worried for some reason, too. Huh, I wonder why. Was she scared of being deemed inadequate? She may not know it, but she was actually leaking a ton of mana subconsciously. So I'm pretty sure she would be more than qualified, especially if she got her control down.

Now that was a strange thought. I never really noticed it until now, but surprisingly enough, the same isn't happening to me. I remember that I was kind of a chakra powerhouse back then, so I at least assumed that it holds true for my mana. Kirei never brought up the issue either, so it was either I had innately good control of it or my reserves shrunk. Oh well, at least maybe the weird stuff won't happen to me as often. "That's admirable of you. Better than my reasons at least."

Whatever turn the conversation would go to had to be put on hold for now, since we finally reached the Castel's front gates. There was one normal guard and one that looked more... well, more like the one I'm looking for. He wasn't subtle in the slightest, so I knew this was the guy I had to ask for entry to the actual program. "Entrant Naruto Hortensia." I said, taking out some documents and a piece of identification from my bag and handing it to him.

"Hm... Under Father Risei's request, eh? Everything checks out, head inside and make a left, there should be another guy like me waiting there." I gave a curt nod and followed the instructions given. Irina following behind me after getting pretty much the same response from the guy. It didn't take long to spot the next guy, since they were easily noticeable amongst the small amount of tourists currently in the Castel. I repeated my previous action, but this time the guy checked both of our files before he beckoned us to enter the door behind him.

Crossing the portal led to a long set of stairs that eventually led to a large auditorium-like room. There were a variety of kids our age there, some already settled in groups and chatting amiably with each other. They were very diverse, but there was a majority of boys and Northern Europeans. Not many managed to stick out in particular, maybe a handful? At least judging by their mana signatures.

I spied a few in particular, like an older green-eyed, blonde boy that looked like he was figuratively dying of starvation and moaning about food, a bespectacled boy the same age as me with the blue-blonde combo and had a regal air about him, there was also two older boys with white hair, one was busy meditating with his eyes closed while the other one with red eyes looked like he had a little too much coffee and was shaking and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Are you Naruto Hortensia?" Hearing my name spoken by an almost angelic-sounding voice, I turn to the direction of the speaker to find a blue-eyed, honey-brown haired Sister holding a couple folders in her hands with a young, fair-skinned girl that had long, blue hair with a single green fringe and dark-yellow eyes behind her. "And you're Irina Shidou, correct?" The two of us nodded simultaneously for our answer, making the Sister beam happily. "Great! You two already know each other! My name is Griselda Quarta, and I will be your Team Instructor~! This is your other teammate... Xenovia, if you please."

"Xenovia Auditore. Pleasure working with you." The blue-haired kid said flatly, in a voice that sounded a bit deep for a girl. Irina and I responded by introducing ourselves formally to her as well. It wasn't anything like the introductions with Kakashi and Team 7, since Xenovia looked even less of a talkative type than me. "Naruto... Irina... Those are weird names..."

"It's Japanese! And it's your name that's weird! What kind of name is Xenovia, anyway? Even that doesn't sound Italian!" Irina retorted with a tick mark on her head, one that was matched by the bluenette herself. It would only be a matter of time until the-... Yep, they were butting heads with each other.

"For your information, my name is of Greek origin, little boy!"

"I'm a girl! You may have very pretty long hair but you're the one who's a boy! Your voice even sounds like one!"

"It does not!"

"Does too!"

Since when did I become the Sakura of this group? Xenovia just had that talented and confident air around her that reminded me a bit about Sasuke, and Irina was a bit happy-go-lucky and easily irritable like I once was. And then there's Instructor Griselda, just standing on the side and watching the events unfold with her amusement apparent like Kakashi. At least, she wasn't reading porn. Honestly, it's like the world is out to get me or something.

Oh well, it's best to just get this over with. "Alright, give it a rest you two. You're making a scene." Placating them was at least easier than what Sakura went through to pacify me or Sasuke when we got under the others skin. I suppose it's just because we were more hardheaded than Irina or Xenovia. Oh, look... there's the lightning-glaring I was waiting for. I can already tell that the next few years are gonna be tons of fun. "Any day now, Teach?"

"Fufufu... Straight to the point, eh Naruto?" The Team Instructor commented with a giggle before explaining some things we needed to know, like our class schedules and team meetings. I was a little happy that there was actually more practical work and some physical training. I'd take that over bookwork any day. "Now, before I leave you to prepare for the orientation... Naruto can you show me your Holy Sword, so we can identify it?" A confused look was all the answer I can grant Instructor Griselda at her request.

What did she mean 'Holy Sword'? I never owned a sword before. True, I knew how to wield one because of my dual-wield style for armed combat, but I was only able to use a sturdy stick I keep behind the tool shed for practice. Even then, Kirei mostly taught me unarmed combat and Healing Magic when it came to combat. Xenovia was looking at me curiously, while Irina had a face of both admiration and a bit of... envy? Griselda on the other hand, hastily opened one of the folders she had with her. But because of said haste, she accidentally dropped the files on the floor.

"What do you mean I have a Holy Sword?" I asked the Instructor as I assisted in picking up her dropped files.

"It was on the file about you that was written by Father Risei before he had to marshal the Magician's ritual." Wait, was that why Grandpa signed me up to become an Exorcist? Because I had a Holy Sword? "He didn't say what it was, just that there is a strong concentration of the Light attribute in your body. Strong enough to definitely be a True Holy Sword wielder. We assumed that you would have known about its existence by now..." She added, showing me the file that was definitely in Gramps' handwriting.

Huh, well I'll be. And just when I thought that the weird stuff would stay away from me for a while. "So, what now?"

"Well, we can worry about your Holy Sword later... I'm sure one of these days, you'll find out a way to call for it." If at all possible, I wouldn't want to call for it. But I knew that just by having it with me would be enough to gravitate the weird stuff my way. I just can't catch a break, can I? Gritting my teeth at an unwanted precognition, I finished up assisting Griselda in collecting her files and folders. Catching glimpse and taking note of several things that stood out like the words 'Pendragon', 'Excalibur', 'Sacred Gear', 'Zenith Tempest', 'Demon Sword' and 'Dragon Slayer'. Stacking up and making sure the files were organized, Griselda looked to me and promptly gave her thanks for my unasked assistance. "Thank you, Naruto. You're such an angel."

I was just doing things that came natural, nothing overly-kind about it. Angel? That's where you're mistaken. I'm no Angel. I'm just plain old Naruto.

Right?

* * *

**Author's Notes**

The A/N at the beginning summarizes it, but to those who need a better explanation.

- This will mostly follow Canon's Arcs. There will be slight differences and twists, but it mostly follows the canon story. I'm still fairly new to writing, not to mention horribly unimaginative. So if you're sick of that, then this story is not for you.

- This is a Harem, albeit a more passive one on Naruto's part. It would be a shame to not use an aspect that is in-series. So if you were expecting only Naruto/Irina or a Naruto/Irina/Xenovia only, then this story is not for you.

- Issei will be taking a back seat, as in Minor Character backseat. Don't get me wrong, while I like the guy as the novels progressed, it is simply too hard for me to write a serious(non-crack/parody) story that has two Male leads and expect everything to be just peachy between them. So if you're a die-hard Issei fan, then this story is not for you.

So if you're one of those who don't wish to continue with me on this story, then feel free to leave and ignore this story. Don't even bother reviewing it if you're not interested in the slightest, since it would save both of our times.

But if you're one of the (rare) few who would remain with me as I write this tale, then by all means, review, fave or follow, whichever one you like.

Now, a bit of info about me, a fairly new writer on this site.

You may have noticed a similarity, but I was inspired to write this fic because of the writer 'LifeNDeath72', so my out-of-story(Title, A/N, Disclaimer) styles somewhat resembles his/her own. In fact, this story was inspired by said writer's 'His Time and Eternity' story, which features the same main pairing as this one. Since it was pretty much discontinued, I asked him/her if I could adopt and adapt that story, which s/he agreed to. S/He even provided me with the overall outline for it (squee~!). Don't bother asking me 'everything' about what s/he planned for it, since divulging that info would spoil that fic's spiritual successor. Of course, I had to put my own spin on that story. So I used an idea that was on one of that story's A/N's. Which, those who are familiar with it have likely already figured out.

I know Naruto was a bit out of character here, but circumstances about his early life and a special reason played a part in what he's like right now. This special reason is also why he can't use his Chakra, and why his memories are fragmented. It's also a 'magical-natured' reason, so don't expect it to be completely 'realistic' when it's revealed.

No, this is not a Double Xover with Fate Stay Night. I simply used some characters and references to serve as family and a background for a de-aged Naruto. The story's title is also a temporary one, and will be changed once the story has progressed to a certain point. Also, if the 1st Person POV bothers you, I can change it to 3rd Person in the next chapter or so if you like. I just found it easier to work this beginning out in Naruto's perspective.

That's all for now.


	2. Awakening

**Awakening**

**Disclaimer: First Chapter.**

**Quick A/N: **Starting from this chapter, Japanese language conventions are going to be more common due to the setting. Like terms, suffixes and I dunno, imagining character dialogue with their Japanese VA? It's hard to explain, so just roll with it, 'kay? There's gonna be a small part near the end that won't have it, because of the same reason (the setting). Hope you enjoy this quite beefy chapter!

* * *

"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it Irina-chan?"

"N-Naru-kun? What are you doing here?" Surprise was evident in the face and tone of the violet-eyed brunette at seeing her blonde best friend here in the flesh. The white Exorcist cloak he wore billowing in the wind with each step as he continued his approach. But for some reason, the twintailed girl couldn't help but feel some dread with each step the whiskered blonde took before stopping a few paces away from her with his calm, yet warm smile ever present on his face. "N-Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything! It was just unexpected is all!"

"Fufufu~... Am I not allowed to meet up with my best friend anymore? You wound me, Irina-chan!" The whiskered blonde exclaimed, opening his cloak to make a dramatic gesture of mock hurt. Not out of conceit, but out of a bit of playfulness on his part. Naruto recomposed himself back to normal and looked towards his best friend with a small smile as he answered her question. "I'm just here on a solo mission. Something really important that I have to do..."

"What is it? Maybe I can help you out?"

"Oh, believe me... You can help me out more than you could ever know." He said with a grin as a pair of white, feathered wings erupted from his back, scattering their feathers in the display. Irina would have marveled at them but she had to reflexively close her eyes when a bright flash of white light erupted. She heard a sickening squelch alongside feeling something pierce her before a searing pain ran across her entire body. Her eyes snapped open to look down and saw a spear of white light piercing her chest, just a few centimeters away from her heart, with blood already pouring out and trailing down her school uniform. "After all, my mission was to hunt down and eliminate some Devils in this area..."

Spitting out the blood pooling in her mouth, Irina followed the length of the spear of light, only for her horrified look to grow in intensity at seeing none other than Naruto holding the rest of the weapon. His face fixed in a cold and stoic expression. A face so foreign on the blonde's face that made Irina think that this was not the Naruto she knew. "N-Naru... w-why...?" She asked as a copious amounts of tears began flooding out of her eyes, unable to keep herself from crying at the cruel betrayal. She felt him twist the spear before violently yanking it out, causing her to fall to the floor as more blood poured out of the wound.

"I don't have to grace a Devil like you with an answer." Naruto answered stone-faced, before it morphed into one of sadness and grief. "The Shidou Irina-chan that I loved died long ago... now, the Devil wearing her face is defeated and her spirit can finally rest." Her eyes widened at the sudden confession, but she couldn't do much of anything as her consciousness began to flicker in and out.

She saw him rear his spear of light back, as thousands more of them materialized in the air behind him, all of them pointing at her immobile form. Unable to cope with the harsh reality, she closed her still-crying eyes as she waited for the inevitable. Her other senses began shutting down, but not before hearing a remorseful 'Farewell!' from the whiskered blonde and her voice letting out one last scream of fear and agony at her terrible fate.

"Iyaaaaa!"

Eyes of brilliant violet irises snapped open as their owner catapulted awake from the recent and vivid nightmare. A teenaged girl with long, light-brown hair tried to calm her panicked breathing as her aforementioned violet eyes adjusted to the sunlight-filtered room. It was a very simple room, considering it wasn't really her own and was just a guest room, but it did have some of her own creature comforts like a few posters with several costumed heroes, photo frames of a large group of young preteens placed atop the desk and a sheathed katana with a reddish-violet wrapping on the hilt propped against the side of said desk.

_Knock-Knock!_

A soft yet worried rapping on the white, wood door grabbed the girl's attention as the person on the opposite side of the portal asked, "Irina-chan! We heard you scream honey... Is everything alright!?"

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine, Hyoudou-oba-san!" The girl replied, shaking off her thoughts from the nightmare and trying her best to answer in a calm manner. "Just a bad dream. Nothing too bad!" Looking to the small digital clock that read 6:30 AM, Irina saw she had roughly an hour and a half before school starts, prompting her to toss the sheets of her bed to the side and getting up, making a few stretches to get rid of the minute amounts of leftover atrophy from freshly waking up.

"Alright, if you say so... Get dressed so you and Issei-kun can get going." Was the last thing Mrs. Hyoudou said before leaving the proximity of the door, her footsteps amongst the hardwood flooring signaling her descent downstairs to get the breakfast for the family done soon. But Irina's focus was no longer on Mrs. Hyoudou's presence. Rather, it was on one of the photo frames on her desk that had a large group of kids in it.

It wasn't a class photo, but rather a photo of her and all the friends she made during her tenure in the Exorcist Training Institute. Despite the ups and downs she faced during her time there, Irina would admit that it was the time in her life where she had the most fun in. And she didn't know if she would have even become acquainted with them, had she not met the person that drew them all together. There, on the right side of the photo, leaning on a stone pillar with arms crossed and a cool smile in place was the whiskered blonde boy she bumped into at a bridge in Rome five years ago. Even if he admitted that he didn't know how to make friends, Naruto Hortensia became the common denominator that connected them all together.

Of course, a lot of things can happen in five years. Oh no, it's not anything like a tragic breaking of the fellowship or anything. As the years went by, full gatherings of the whole group became a rare occurrence due to the increasing workload of both studies and missions. The Exorcist Order was an International group, and had to be able to send out agents all around the world at a moment's notice, so more often than not, some of them would end up being called away. Even more so, now that she has actually graduated from the Institute.

Though they needed Exorcists on hand for sudden emergencies, they also had to assign a few on-site to function as an immediate response team. Hence, the reason she was back here alone in Japan and living under the same roof as her childhood friend. Her blue-haired teammate Xenovia was assigned on a mission elsewhere just before Irina had to leave for this assignment last year. And like her parents, who were still on active duty, Naruto was busy as an on-call agent and stayed in Rome. Likely due to the higher-ups' desire to awaken and identify his Holy Sword. Not really a bad thing for him, considering it gave him a ton of free time to spending the 'normal' side of his life, which he seemed to heavily prefer over all the Exorcist and supernatural stuff.

Casting an aside glance towards the clock and seeing her remaining prep time for school tick away, Irina took her eyes off the photo frame and headed for her closet. It was just like any other girls closet, but there were some outfits that didn't look like they belonged to your average teenaged girl. On one hanger was a skin-tight, sleeveless, black bodysuit that covered majority of her torso and reached to her mid-thigh like a pair of shorts. On another was a white, full-body, hooded cloak with light-teal and gold accents. And the last one that was uncommon was the grayish-white suit that had a pair of slacks instead of a skirt.

But neither of those were the outfits Irina took out of the closet before sliding the door close. Rather, it was the outfit that had a few extra copies. It consisted of a white, long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings and a black ribbon on the collar, a black, button-down corset, and a magenta skirt that had a white line and white frills near and on the hem respectively. Normally, the outfit had a black shoulder cape, but Irina decided to forgo that piece of clothing due to the shifting season. She wasn't bothered by the cold anyway. She opened the drawer next to her bed and took out her undergarments, a pair of black bike shorts, white, ankle-length sports socks and two blue scrunchies to tie her hair with later after her shower.

Grabbing her towel that was hanging off a rack, she exited her room and headed for the bathroom down the hall to take her shower.

Hopefully, without her perverted childhood friend peeping on her.

* * *

Walking through the bustling, lunch-time halls of the High School she was attending, which was known as Kuoh Academy, Irina headed to the cafeteria at a casual pace. She was now clad in the school uniform she took out earlier, with the addition of a plain, silver crucifix necklace, a pair of blue and white running shoes she preferred wearing due to her active lifestyle, and a light-cream colored rope tied around her left bicep. And despite her best efforts to comb it over, one particular strand of her hair, which was now tied into twintails using the blue scrunchies from earlier, continued sticking out and refused to stay down.

Kuoh Academy was a prestigious school that was mostly Victorian-era in design. It had a large brick wall to mark its borders in the city, well-maintained rooms, halls and grassy fields free for student use, sports fields for track, swimming and tennis to name a few, a parking lot, and an old, yet well-kept school building deep in the nearby woods. It was previously an all-girls school before turning co-ed a year or so prior to Irina's return to Japan, explaining why there was a higher female population in contrast to the males. But despite its design and a great deal of foreigners attending it, Kuoh Academy followed a Japanese curriculum and system, which according to the Principal, was so that the foreign students can feel at home while experiencing the normal Japanese High School life.

Though Irina returned the greetings other students she knew gave her and was mindful enough to watch where she was going, she was actually a bit lost in her thoughts right now. Which wasn't really helping matters with her traveling companion to the cafeteria, who has been trying to get her attention around the midpoint of their small trek. "Oi, Irina!"

Snapping out of her thoughts only after her friend raised his voice and stood in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, Irina raised a curious eyebrow at him and asked, "Issei-kun? What's wrong?"

Hyoudou Issei was his name, and being a massive, open pervert that loudly declares his dream of becoming a Harem King was his game. He was a boy of similar age to Irina, both being 16 years old. He had short, chocolate brown hair that had two 'tails' on the back of his neck and similarly colored eyes. He wore a plain, red shirt under both his unbuttoned, white, long-sleeved button-down shirt and his open, black blazer. He wore the standard black pants and a pair of white sneakers that had blue accents. A bit different from Irina's, in that he wore them just for comfort, rather than being a sporty guy.

While she was far from amused that her childhood friend turned into such a pervert during their time apart, it wasn't ever going to be something that would spur her into severing their bond of friendship. He was still the same Issei from her childhood, with the added extreme fascination for breasts. Although, it did help that he seemed to have gotten better control over his perversion during the course of the previous year, likely due to him joining and being under the strict, no-nonsense attitude of the Student Council President Shitori Souna. At least, when compared to the other members of his infamous posse known as 'The Perverted Trio'.

Anyways, Issei looked a bit worried at that and made the same gesture Irina did a moment prior, "I should be asking you that! I've been trying to call your attention, but you just kept walking and ignoring me. You've been spacing out a lot since this morning, too. So what gives?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about some... stuff." Irina deflected, rather weakly at that considering Issei didn't look the least bit convinced. Her recent nightmare having shook her up more than she realized, especially when she considered how very possible it was for her best friend to suddenly be like that. After all, she hasn't really seen him in one whole year, and everybody knows that a lot can change even in that short span of time. She shook her head to prevent herself from spacing out again, and decided to ask Issei what he needed of her. "Anyways, what did you need of me, Issei-kun?"

Knowing she didn't want to make an issue of it, Issei nodded and played along, but someone else spoke for him. "Issei-ku... -senpai was called in to attend a Student Council meeting by Souna-kaichou, Shidou-senpai." Turning her attention to where the voice was coming from, which was right next to her, Irina saw that it came from a younger girl with a fair skin tone and dark-brown hair styled into twintails like herself, with two green clips that kept a lot of her bangs out of the way of her green eyes. Unlike Irina, she wore the full Kuoh Academy Girls Uniform, meaning with the black shoulder cape included. She wore a pair of two-tone green, striped thigh-high socks and dark-brown dress shoes for her personal touch to the Uniform. "Sorry about crashing your plans for lunch, Shidou-senpai."

"No, it's fine, Ruruko-chan. Nothing lost, really." Irina reassured to the girl with her cheery smile. This was Nimura Ruruko, who was a First-Year student, a member of the Student Council like Issei, and was probably one of the very few girls who overlooked said boy's perversion, to the point of even having a crush on him. Probably due to Issei not even acting perverted around her. "Issei-kun was gonna blow me off to peep on the girls in the locker room anyway."

"I was not!" A flabbergasted Issei rebutted, much to the two girls amusement. Even if he was a good guy overall, Issei still had his moments of indulging in his perverted tendencies when he was away from the stern eyes of Souna. "Although... it was Yumi-chan's class that recently had Gym..." He mumbled, losing himself in some perverted giggling before he realized that he would be missing a prime chance to peep on the 'Princess of Kuoh' because of the meeting. "Kuso! Life is so unfair!"

The two twintailed girls and a few other bystanders just watched Issei with a sweatdrop as he knelt and pounded his fist on the floor while crying at the cruel twist of fate he was made to suffer from. "Shidou-senpai, should we..." Ruruko began to ask, turning to Irina, who just shook her head and told her to let him vent since it was not anything serious. It took a good few minutes for Issei to calm down. While there were plenty of beautiful girls attending Kuoh, there was a good few that simply stuck out from the rest. Which was an inevitability when one factors in an individual's perspective to what attracts their fancy.

After bidding Irina a cheerful 'goodbye' and a 'see you later', Ruruko and Issei turned around and headed off to the Student Council's meeting room. Irina spun on her heel after giving one last wave to her friends and resumed her trek to the cafeteria. Arriving shortly after, she headed for the bakery end to get something simple. Thanks to the presence of foreign students, there was a good bit of International food available. And with the lunch break lasting a good bit of time, specific requests were also on the menu, so there was no worry of feeling routine and monotony.

But Irina didn't really feel like going for anything special or complicated, so she just thought about getting some kind of bread. "Hm... I think I'll go for some... Taiyaki!" She mused while looking at what was currently in stock before reaching out to grab the wrapper that contained the fish-shaped cake, only for another person's hand to touch the same one, which also happened to be the last one. Irina had to smirk as she found herself in another situation she experienced many times since the start of this school year. "It seems we are at an impasse once again, Koneko-chan!"

The owner of the other hand was a petite girl with short, white hair that had two prominent bangs framing her face and a black cat hair clip on each side. She had a healthy pale skin tone and a pair of vibrant hazel eyes that made her resemble, just like her name, a cat. Like Irina, she didn't wear the shoulder cape of the Winter Uniform. But unlike her, she didn't wear bike shorts and wore black socks that reached below her knees, and dark-brown dress shoes like majority of the populace. Her full name was Toujou Koneko, and was a First-Year student like Ruruko and one of her friends. "...Shidou-senpai. Prepare yourself." Koneko said, rearing her fist back. Though her tone was a neutral and monotone, her face and eyes had a bit of cockiness to them.

"Likewise!" Irina responded challengingly, mimicking the petite girl's action by rearing her own fist back.

"...Jan!"

"Ken!"

"Pon!" The two finished simultaneously as they threw their hand down. Irina having scissors against Koneko's rock. The two heard someone from the very back of the cafeteria yell out 'Shobu ari!' for some reason, which was not at all unfitting considering a winner had been decided. "Ah mou! I lost again!" Irina grumbled, watching Koneko pay for the last Taiyaki bun. It wasn't really the loss of the food she complained about, rather the current win streak the white-haired girl had over her. "I'll just go with some Melon bread please. Wait, make that two of them." She requested to the amused staff member who used some tongs to take two loaves of the sweet bun into a small paper bag. Paying the necessary amount, Irina walked alongside Koneko, who decided to spend her lunch break with her.

The two exited the cafeteria and into the outdoor grass fields to have their lunch where many groups of students were also having their lunch, some were mixed but most were all-girls. Sitting under one of the many trees strewn about, Irina and Koneko unwrapped their bread and took the first bite in perfect sync. They spent half a minute in silence first to chew their food, until Koneko spoke up. "...4-11. 6-point win streak. Lucky 7 imminent, Shidou-senpai."

"No way am I gonna let that happen! Just you wait, Koneko-chan! I'll break that win streak of yours on the next match and start my own!" Koneko simply made a small, challenging smirk at the brunette's declaration and resumed munching on her lunch cutely. Though her outward appearance looked as if she was idly observing the other students with Irina, who settled down and happily munched on her lunch, Koneko was actually wondering why this Exorcist still hasn't figured out her and a few others' big secret yet. "So, Koneko-chan..." Irina began, grabbing the white-haired girl's attention. "How was your weekend? Do anything exciting?"

Koneko stalled for time on what she was going to say by taking a bite of her food. She rather liked her cheerful brunette Senpai, finding her energy and their mutual love for sweets refreshing. True, she was wary on the first few times they met when they contested over particular foods during lunch, since Irina was an Exorcist and she was... the opposite. But the brunette girl never seemed to have caught on about any of the others and remained her usual upbeat and kind self. Even treating the little cat to a fresh batch of donuts on one of the rare times she lost in a food duel.

So it was understandable that Koneko couldn't simply blurt out 'My King took our group hunting for traitorous strays' or 'I had my familiar watch you from afar because of my orders'. Realizing she had been taking too long to answer, Koneko quickly replied. "...Can't complain. Just stayed home relaxing."

"Didn't spend time with your other friends?"

"Busy." Irina looked curious at the answer, considering it was still a bit early in the school year, so the current workload shouldn't be that full yet. Not wanting to think too hard about it, Irina gave a light shrug and a nod to show Koneko that she understood. The two just watched the other students go about their own lunch, which wasn't completely interesting, since most were just talking. Irina took out the second Melon bread and split it in half, giving one half to Koneko out of reflex, having done the action many times before.

Thinking about Koneko's love of sweet things and being a big eater made Irina remember a certain blonde Senpai and friend in the Exorcist Order, Dulio Gesualdo, who likely ate more than Koneko usually did. Granted, his love was for food in general, rather than just sweets. "Koneko-chan, what do you think of Mapo Tofu?" Irina asked idly as a thought crossed her mind.

"Gross." Was the instant reply of the white-haired girl while looking a bit green at the idea, eliciting a giggle from the brunette. Koneko would have asked why she asked such a random question, but a long, drawn-out 'Kya!' prevented her from doing so. Irina stood up in alarm as her right arm drifted close to the rope on her left bicep, thinking it was some kind of big threat. But Koneko, who had sharper hearing than most others, knew exactly what the screaming was all about. "Gremory-senpai and Himejima-senpai." She said while tugging on Irina's sleeve, making her calm down.

"Eh? The 'Two Great Ladies of Kuoh'? Where?" She asked, while looking around curiously. She may have been here for a whole year already, but not once has she ever actually seen the aforementioned Senpais. She's heard of them or their approach, but something always seemed to get in her way when she tries to actually see them. Whatever move Koneko would have done next was irrelevant, since the two subjects of the student body's fangirlism came into Irina's view for the very first time.

Obviously, there were two of them, but was one trailing just a step behind the other. The first had long, crimson-red hair that had a strand sticking out at the top, calm blue-green eyes and a happy smirk on her fair-skinned face. She wore the full Kuoh Academy Girls Uniform with white socks that ran up to above her ankles. The second had black hair tied in a very-long ponytail with the use of an orange ribbon and two strands sticking out from the top and sloping backwards. Like the redhead, her violet eyes were set in a calm manner, but her fair-skinned face was notably happier, evident by the bigger smile on her face. She also wore the full Girls Uniform, albeit with black socks that reached just below her knees.

The redhead was Rias Gremory, a girl rumored to be of Scandinavian descent. While the raven-haired girl was Himejima Akeno, the epitome of the 'Yamato Nadeshiko' archetype in the school. Together, they make the 'Two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy', the top two most popular girls in the school. Both having brains, brawn, beauty, (good)behavior and buxom all checked out on the proverbial list. Many a fanboy have figuratively died from nosebleeds at a simple crossing of their literal paths. While the more prevalent fangirls idolized them. Thankfully, not to the point of deification.

"So that's them, huh? I can't believe the rumors were actually accurate this time!" Irina commented as she and Koneko watched the two girls pass through the crowd of other females who greeted them with admiring eyes. There were some boys who tried getting in their way and asking them for a date, but the two just politely declined and continued on their way to the Old School Building. "Well, mystery solved! I can't believe this is the first time I'm really seeing them. Then again, I was kinda bad when it came to the Sensory skills..."

Had Irina been paying attention, she would have noticed Koneko exchange a quick and discrete understanding nod between her and Rias Gremory. After the two elegant ladies disappeared into the woods a few seconds later, Irina sat back down while Koneko finished off the rest of her half of the Melon bread before laying her head on the brunette's lap for a quick nap since they still had a ton of time to go before class resumes. Irina herself idly finishing off her own half as she let her thoughts drift to nothing in particular.

* * *

Stifling a yawn as she walked the streets, Irina took her usual path back to the Hyoudou house alone, since Issei had to attend to his Student Council duties with Ruruko and Koneko had her own club activities. Though she dropped in from time to time to brush up on her swordsmanship, she wasn't really part of the Kendo Club. Even then, today was one of the days Yumi was training with them, and she didn't really feel like causing a scene by showing up.

Her Exorcist duties were also practically non-existent, since she was ordered by the supervisor of the Exorcists assigned to this city to 'go undercover in Kuoh Academy', which was basically him saying 'go to school and let the grown-ups do the work', probably call her a brat too if he could get away with it. Requesting a transfer or actual duties from Father Andersen back at the Vatican would be a breach in protocol and chain of command, and Lord knows how much a stickler for the rules old people were.

So in the end, without any after school activities to do, Irina was simply doing her duty as part of the Going-Home Club. It was times like this she wished she had any of her teammates or friends from Rome here. She was sure that Naruto wouldn't have raised a fuss at being assigned this location, either. Assigned by an old timer to do 'undercover' work, no clubs, a cute little sister he could pester and play with everyday when he got home. Yes, Irina was very certain Naruto would have liked being in her position right now.

"Maybe I should get a boyfriend or something..." Irina mused with a sigh, not really thinking about anyone in particular.

_Cough-cough..._

"U-Um... Excuse me!"

Seeing no one else on the bridge, Irina turned around to see the person who was likely addressing her. It was a boy around the same age as her, with long and straight black hair, that was tied into a low ponytail using a gray scrunchy and resting on his right shoulder, and dark-violet eyes. He wore a different uniform that Irina couldn't identify so she knew he had to be from a different school. It consisted of white button-down shirt with a red tie, a red blazer with a gold 'P' patch on the left breast, which was probably the school emblem, forest-green pants and black dress shoes. "Can I help you?"

"Um... You are Shidou Irina-san from Kuoh Academy, right?" Irina nodded for her answer as the raven-haired boy fidgeted a bit, which didn't really match his rather suave look. "Great! I wasn't mistaken... My name is Amano Yuri. And well... I, This may be quite sudden, but please... Go out with me!" He finished with a large bow, that placed him in a perfect 90 degree angle. Hearing no answer, he raised his head to see her completely shocked and unable to form a response, so he took that time to try and ease her worries. "You see... I've seen you walk through her many times before... N-Not by stalking you or anything! And I thought... right then and there... That you... you're my..."

"Sorry. But I can't." Now it was Yuri's turn to look shocked at the words that resounded in the empty bridge. He would have asked why she refused, but Irina spoke up before he could voice his question. "Not that there's anything wrong with your approach. I'd be nervous too if I had to ask someone out all of a sudden. It wasn't because of your reason or because you weren't assertive, either. It's just..." Irina's eyes narrowed and her hands holding her bag tensed in anticipation. "I'm not interested in girls..."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Shidou-san?" Yuri tried to laugh off as if she was joking.

"Enough playing dumb! You think I don't notice that bump on your chest after you made that bow?" Irina called out, holding a small black hilt in her hands behind her back just in case he... or rather, she got violent.

"Tch. I told that fucking idiot Dohnaseek that this damn sarashi was loose." 'Yuri' said, taking off the scrunchy in her hair and letting it flow freely. She then ripped off the fake uniform she wore, revealing an exposed boob and a partially unmade sarashi before ripping those off too, making her completely naked. "One job. All he had to do was tie a fucking knot, and it ends up being terrible."

"Why did you have to take your clothes off, too?" Irina asked with a mild blush, that she tried gaining control of, at the audacity this person had at strutting about in her birthday suit.

"What? This? Come on..." 'Yuri' drawled with a roll of her eyes before a manic glint came over them. "You're a girl, so why are you embarrassed at something you yourself have?"

"I'm not the one on trial here!" Irina retorted, as the raven-haired woman crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them up. "Put some clothes on, lady!"

"Tch. Whatever." Was the last thing 'Yuri' said as the area they were in shifted into a purple sky with gnarly, swirling purple clouds and black feathers falling from the sky.

"_A bounded field?"_ Irina surmised as she looked at her surroundings, outstretching her arm to catch a falling black feather, causing her eyes to widen as she heard a low whizzing noise and evading a reddish-purple Light Spear by a hair's breadth. Turning to the only possible source, Irina's eyes widened further when she saw 'Yuri' was now dressed in skimpy bondage gear that exposed tons of skin. But it wasn't the outfit that elicited her shock, rather it was the pair of ash-black, feathered wings that were on her back. "You're a Fallen Angel..."

"Bingo. I'm Fallen Angel Raynare. I see you're not as stupid as you look..."

"Hey! Who are you calling stupid!" Irina countered angrily, the hilt in her hands erupting a blade of hardened white light. Knowing that she can't call for back-up in a bounded field, Irina quickly analyzed her surroundings more thoroughly. Both to see what she can and can't use to her advantage, and to see if the only way out was by defeating 'Yuri'... or rather, Raynare.

"Who else? I certainly don't see anybody else here!" Raynare answered with a cocky smirk and arms spread wide to emphasize her point. She held her hand out in front of her and materialized another of her Light Spears and twirled it around her sexy body expertly for intimidation. "Now then, I'd be happy if you just put down the weapon, be a good girl and die. But if you want to do this the hard way... well, I don't 'dislike' cute girls like you. So we can have some 'fun' if you want..." She finished with a lick of her lips.

Bracing herself by holding her Light Sword in front of her defensively, Irina focused all her thoughts in the coming fight, knowing that if she really needed to, she would have to use the Holy Sword as her trump card. This was the first real fight where it was all her and nobody else. Memories of the many missions where Naruto or Xenovia ended up doing all the heavy lifting thanks to his great and vast array of skills for both combat and support and her natural talent and Holy Sword. Compared to those two and the others in their circle of friends back in the Exorcist Order, Irina was the most normal of them all. Being a Holy Sword wielder through artificial means and being above-average in overall grades in the Training Institute. There were many nights where Irina lost sleep over the feelings of inferiority and inadequacy that festered in her mind as her body sailed in the sea of powerful up and coming Exorcist peers.

"_But this time will definitely be different. I'm not going to let you two always walk in front of me! Everyone, Xenovia-chan, Naruto-kun... watch over me!"_

Mind focused and one last prayer offered to the Lord, Irina charged in and clashed her blade with the Fallen Angel's.

* * *

Blurry shadows danced across the treetops in one of the many nameless and normally quiet forests of the Italian countryside. 'Normally quiet' being the keywords. As any person with sharp hearing can faintly hear steel clashing against not-steel. The amount of sparks that would have generated by now should have set the forest ablaze, if not for the heavy deluge of rain that tried to double as an aural obstruction. Of course, the darkened clouds it brought with it also degraded overall visibility.

Another clash of steel against not-steel resounded as the source came into a muddy clearing. "You always have been a bit of a free spirit... But to think you can shrug off my **Excalibur Ruler**'s ability... You're making my blood boil in excitement, Naruto!" A bespectacled, blue-eyed blonde said in an excited manner that did not match his calm face. He was a young man at around 16 years old, wearing a plain, royal-blue shirt under a black trench coat, black jeans and black running shoes. In his hands and clashing in a blade lock against a sword of hardened light was a shining silver-edged sword with royal-blue and gold accents like gold diamonds on the blade's flat side and a gold cross near the guard. Its hilt was royal-blue in color and had a gold circle on the pommel to cap it off.

On the other side of the crossed blades was a boy of similar age with spiky, sunny-blonde hair that was wet from the rain and had a spiky ponytail that reached his upper back in length, sky-blue eyes with an innocent shape that belied its owner's true mental age, six lines on his cheeks with three on each side resembling animal whiskers, and a face with a light-tan skin tone that was set in a hurt-yet-determined expression. He wore a simple, skin-tight, black bodysuit with matching full gloves and boots. On his upper chest was the tattered remains of a once-full-body, hooded, white cloak with teal and gold accents. "Is this really what you wanted, Arthur! Sieg!? Deserting everything we've been through... our friendships... just so we can settle the score? Just so you can fight strong people!?" Naruto asked angrily, yet not hiding the betrayal he felt. His right hand quickly shot to his back-waist, where he gripped his holstered Azoth Sword for a quick-draw.

Drawing the blade and attempting a slash at the other blonde's midsection all in one move, the now-named Arthur simply broke the blade lock and leaped backwards as another took his place in the deadly dance of swords with Naruto. He was an older boy likely around 18 years old, with messy, shoulder-length, silver-white hair and green eyes that were set in a similar calm manner. He wore a simple, long-sleeved, white button-up under a black waistcoat, black slacks and black dress shoes. His sword was a silver-edged blade that had a dip in its flat side, which contained several runes that glowed a faint green light, the guard was ornately designed like half-a-sun and had two spikes each on both ends of the guard and near the blade's edges. It had blue and green gemstones for design, a short hilt with dark-orange wrapping and a semicircle for a pommel facing inwards.

"We never did have a battle we went 'all-out' on, haven't we Naruto?" Arthur's musing voice echoed from wherever he was hiding from within the treeline, while the whiskered blonde fought off the silver-haired swordsman. "Back then, it always felt like it was a fight against the barriers you created rather than you yourself. Do you know how frustrating it was to see you just stand there creating barriers, tanking hits and using Healing Magic as we tire ourselves out!? Then, when we do manage to force you into the offensive, you use cheap and dirty tricks, like what you attempted just now!"

"I don't do those things because I don't respect you! You know I don't like fighting!" Naruto rebutted, as he and his current opponent continued to exchange sword blows. Feeling the wind pick up around the silver-haired swordsman, Naruto quickly closed the distance by riding the wind that was drawing around Sieg in an effort to interrupt the incoming sword technique.

But his attempt at disrupting the attack only served to put him in range of it, as Sieg called out the name of his technique the moment Naruto was within reach. "**Dragon Tempest**." A shredding sphere of wind formed in front of Sieg, rotating in all directions like an out-of-control maelstrom, each blade of wind within cutting whatever was inside as it tried drawing Naruto closer into its shredding field. Before it died down, Sieg slashed the sphere with his sword, making the wind spread wildly while sending out small blades in random directions.

"Oh believe me, Naruto. We both know and understand that. But in that line of work and dealing with the supernatural world, fighting is an inevitability!" Sieg shouted as a panting Naruto used his Light Sword to assist himself in standing. Despite the loud and near-deafening rainfall, the silver-haired swordsman's words were still heard by the whiskered blonde. "We know that you were entered in the program without your knowledge. But sooner or later, you would have been involved either way!"

Clothes shredded and cuts a plenty, Naruto continued to pant as he sheathed his Azoth Sword and began to concentrate. Arthur and Sieg sensed a build-up in mana and saw Naruto's hand spark a flickering white light. "Healing light... I call upon thee..." The whiskered blonde chanted as the white light flickered full force, illuminating the darkened field as majority of the cuts on Naruto's body began to close. _"I should have expected no less from these two. Arthur and the **Excalibur Ruler**... how fitting for the descendant of King of Britain. And then there's Sieg, descendant of the Dragonslayer and the Demon Sword **Balmung**... Well, now I know somewhat of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a **Rasenshuriken**... It's a pi~nch..."_

"And there's the otherworldly stamina and endurance you have. You've used that healing spell a few times already. Not only that, you've thrown a good bit of Black Keys and kept your Light Sword active for a good long while."

"This is the kind of battle we wanted from you, Naruto! One where we truly trade blows and clash swords! A battle we truly go 'all-out' on! Isn't it exhilarating!?"

"_Just my luck. They're getting riled up..." _Naruto inwardly mused as he ignored Arthur's assessment and Sieg's hot-blooded rambling. _"One of them switches-in whenever the other is in danger of getting damaged. Simple, yet very effective against me, since I'm the only one who can't rest in-between. They're beating my stamina with constant switches and keeping me occupied."_ Naruto observed, sparing a glance to his Light Sword which began to show cracks on the hardened light blade and the hilt. _"I better get a paid vacation when I do get these two idiots back."_

Sieg leaped back into the treeline as Arthur emerged from the one behind Naruto with his Holy Sword poised to strike. Naruto flicked the wrist of his free hand which now held three, dark-red hilts that he held in-between his fingers, holding them across his body and pointing towards his back, where he materialized their blades when Arthur got close. Though even with the tattered cloak obstructing the view of the blade's materialization, it only managed to graze Arthur's side who side-stepped at the last second and slashed at Naruto, who barely rolled away in time.

"_It may not be ANBU coded hand signals... Not that I would know what those were, but I'm pretty sure they're double-teaming me with silent warnings, too." _Naruto observed, knowing that it was impossible to count exactly how many Black Keys handles he had left over since they were in a storage rune that Griselda taught him to use because his skin-tight outfit was playing against him if he visibly carried around his hilts. Blocking a heavy, overhead strike from Arthur's Holy Sword and back-flipping away so as to let him get back on his feet, Naruto threw the Keys he used to try and stab Arthur with and took out a second hilt of a Light Sword in his free-hand. "You want me to go 'all-out'? Fine. If that's what it takes to get my friends back, then I will. At least... with the 'all' that I currently have!"

The second Light Sword came to life, with Naruto twisting the other one on his right in a reverse-grip as he charged at Arthur. Though he wore a good poker-face, Arthur was both enjoying himself at finally getting a real battle with his rival, and regretting what he had to do to get it. Ever since the early days in the Exorcist Order, Arthur knew without a doubt that he would become the best in his class and year. He was smart, calm and calculative, athletic and a good-fighter, a natural-born Holy Sword wielder and was quite the looker. And he knew that all these great traits would alienate him from the rest, which wasn't going to be a bad thing, since he had a lot more important things to care about.

But then Naruto started talking to him. The second-placer in their year, the one with the most reason to want to beat him and claim the Number One spot. It wasn't a request for a sanctioned ranking duel... no, it was a simple conversation about some random unrelated topic he already forgot. It happened over and over again, until it culminated in a spar for mutual improvement, the Instructors pairing the two up against each other. Arthur lost after having tired himself out fighting Naruto's barriers, but he was able to keep his spot as best student because the rankings weren't on the line.

It was after that battle that Arthur realized that Naruto was definitely stronger than him. Him! A prodigy, the descendant of the King of Britain and chosen wielder of the strongest **Excalibur Fragment**. Granted, he didn't use the **Excalibur Ruler** during that or any of the subsequent spars, but then again, Naruto himself was holding back by being a pacifistic medic that rarely went on the offensive. Though he only wanted a true battle with Naruto where they went all-out, what Arthur received was something far more important.

Friends. And not just Naruto.

Even now, as he and Naruto clashed blades in a deadly dance that began to displace the wind and scar the trees, Arthur knew that Naruto was still holding something back. He knew well enough that the top 4 in their year all wielded Holy Swords. With Arthur only now using his, while Naruto had yet to awaken his own. But the absence of his Holy Sword wasn't the only thing that was holding him back. It was also because Naruto still viewed him as a friend.

But what could he do to make Naruto view him otherwise? Sure, he wanted to fight Naruto in a true battle, but he wasn't scum. He wouldn't endanger innocents for a selfish desire, nor would he literally stab the friends he made in the back, either. Heck, even the reason he gave to Naruto for his desertion from the Exorcist Order was only half of the true reason why he was doing it. Even Sieg had a similar desire, yet being friends with Naruto and the rest of the gang made both feel remorse for choosing this path.

Finding himself quickly getting pushed back by Naruto, who was definitely starting to feel and show his growing exhaustion, Arthur made a subtle nod to the treeline, eliciting Sieg to join the fray with **Balmung** at the ready.

Now that they were actually double-teaming him, it was Naruto's turn to get pushed back. Having been moving non-stop ever since he got the call that Arthur and Sieg have deserted. It was almost like the time when Sasuke left the Leaf Village. Once again, despite being emotionally compromised, he was being sent to capture a deserter. Of course, there was a bit of a twist this time around. There were two of them, there was no other retrieval team members, no enemy officers staying behind to buy time for the deserters to escape. And finally, it wasn't going to be a simple match between the Rookie of the Year versus the Class Clown-Dead Last.

It wasn't a battle with prepubescent rivals that had mirrored lives. It was a battle with three experienced teenagers pushing against each other with all their might as they wielded legendary weapons of great power. All three knowing and acknowledging the very real possibility that one of them can die today.

* * *

"Tch. You're pretty good. For a puny human, that is." Raynare complimented through gritted teeth as she spat out some blood. Her erotic body was now covered with multiple cuts of varying degrees and a few bruises, which isn't all that bad if you're into that sort of thing. She underestimated the little girl she was sent to keep an eye on and payed a small price for doing so.

Across from her, but looking a lot worse, was Irina who was struggling to keep standing. Her uniform having had multiple tears, deep cuts, leaking blood and a bruise on her cute cheeks. Though she did well at being able to wound Raynare multiple times, the Fallen Angel got way too pissed and decided to stop playing around. Keeping distance while chucking her Light Spears, flying up when Irina got close and destroying any elevated position within the bounded field that she can use to reach her.

Crying as her tears and blood began mixing at random parts of her body, Irina was literally on her last legs and was hanging on by a thread. Unless she could land a decisive blow, she can kiss her life goodbye. And it was a thought that honestly scared her. She hasn't fully experienced the many wonderful things life has to offer. Like those expensive beefs that was all the same cow under the chopping board or extreme skyboarding. Heck, she hasn't even gone on her first date or gotten a boyfriend yet. Then there was the most important part: Her dream. While she has accomplished the first goal of becoming an Exorcist. She couldn't really make a name for herself as one if she was dead.

"_No! It can't end this way! I won't let it end this way! I said I won't lose... I don't wanna die!_" She thought inwardly while repeating the last part like a mantra to activate the Human Survival Instinct. It was the only thing she had left that could possibly carry her to victory. Or at least, undo the bounded field and alert the other Exorcists spread around the city about the Fallen Angel attacking her. She saw Raynare rear two of her Light Spears in her hands as time seemed to slow down, to give a bit of reprieve for the crying brunette, letting Irina dodge the two shots while she repeated her mantra and adding a final, _"I want to LIVE!" _as the wind began to pick up.

* * *

"You've finally reached this place."

"Huh?" Was Naruto's smart reply as he looked around in alarm. One moment, he was bracing himself as he was about to take a combined technique from both Arthur and Sieg. The next, he was in outer space looking at a far-off Earth as if he was under the effects of some kind of herb. "What the-? Where am I? Wait... why does that Earth look weird?"

"It seems it's finally time you got back a part of yourself." Hearing the last part made Naruto look around a bit more desperately than before. If there was one thing he worked tirelessly on over the course of his years alive, it was recovering the lost chunks in his memory. Though it bore no fruit, he never stopped trying and at many times forced himself to remember. He wanted to know what happened to him. Was he in another world? Flung across time? Died and reborn with part of his old memories intact? And what of his old friends? The ones he made before he became the adopted child in the Hortensia household? What happened to them? So many questions. Yet no answers at all.

But this time, he was getting something back. Something important to his identity. He couldn't care less of the specifics to what it was. All that mattered was that it was a part of himself he was getting back. And maybe, even by the tiniest sliver of hope, it can help fill in some blanks. "I don't care what it is! I humbly receive it!" Naruto called out as he knelt down on one leg and one fist clenched on his chest, directly above his heart like a knight.

"Hahaha~! You're quick to abandon your acquired brains for something fleeting like memories? You never change!" Naruto just gritted his teeth at the casual dismissal of the object of his desire, not wanting to cross a line against this invisible entity. "But I don't really dislike that, either!" He heard the ambiguous voice cough a bit as it stopped its laughter. "Hmm... Well, we're kinda short on time and I'm feeling a bit lazy. So let's make this brief... contract, honor, power, responsibility blah-de-blah-blah-blah... Comprende, whiskers?"

"No comprende. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Just say 'yes', idiot."

"Fine. But if this bites me in the ass because you're too lazy to explain, I'm filing a complaint." Naruto said, standing up as a stream of gold light flowed out from... somewhere and tied itself around him, binding his form as a feeling of warmth wrapped around him, almost like that of a parent's as a blinding light began to shine.

"All in due time... my child."

Arthur and Sieg closed in at high-speed to deliver their combination attack to the now immobile, closed-eyed Naruto, who managed to hold his own against both of them before being cornered. Both **Excalibur Ruler** and **Balmung** were wreathed in a strong electric current and a shredding column of wind ready to drive pointy-end first into Naruto's chest. While they didn't really want to kill him, Naruto's resilience was wearing them down as well, which would make their desertion a failure and likely get punished severely because of it.

As their swords closed in, a bright gold and prismatic-white light erupted directly in the middle of Naruto's chest and the ground under him cracking into a crater. Streams of similarly-colored light pouring out of it and into dispersing into the world as the blonde whispered, "**Kyokkouheki(Aurora Wall)**..." The streams condensed into a localized pillar of light, sending out a large burst of light that pushed Arthur and Sieg back with their weapons now separated. The two recovered from their rag doll rolling and armed themselves quickly with their swords and braced for Naruto's next move.

The whiskered blonde undergoing a power surge staggered his chest forward as an ornate gold pommel erupted from the light pouring from his chest. Naruto staggered once again as more of the object in his chest continued to slowly expunge itself, revealing a white-colored hilt that had a gold line running through the middle. Having had enough of wasting time, Naruto raised his hands and gripped the hilt and pulled out the obvious weapon inch by inch, revealing a complicatedly-designed gold cross-guard with black accents, a long, double-edged pure-white blade with no defined edge that had a gold line running through the middle of the sword's flat side and a round, gold pendant with a black 'U'-shape and black teardrops design wrapped by its black cord around the tip of the blade.

Pulling the sword out of his chest and twisting it into a normal grip in his hand, Naruto let a small, yet sad smile play on his face as he held his Holy Sword high into the sky. "Looks like my days are gonna be a lot more hectic now." Naruto mused as the streams of light surrounding him condensed and erupted into a very-large, brilliant pillar that tore a hole through the cloudy sky, sending shock waves across the world as certain, supernaturally aware individuals turned or looked up to see the pillar or whatever parts of it they can see.

To name a few, a black-haired twintailed girl shopping with a redhead and silver-haired woman in Akihabara. A man with black hair and gold bangs who was fishing in a river at night. A young teenaged boy with silver hair standing on the girders of an under-construction skyscraper, with a manic smile making its way to his face. A petite black haired Goth-Loli sitting on a mountain as she used a magnifying glass to burn and melt a red-colored rubber lizard with paper cut-out wings attached. And finally, a pair of silver-haired gents that was watching the events through multiple screens.

"Uhyahyahyahya~...Look, Eu~! He's starting to regain some of himself again! Looks like we'll be able to bring 'that' out for a spin soon~!"

"It seem we will, Milord. I could only imagine his face when he sees it. I do hope it would be one of absolute misery."

"Oh, it definitely will be~! And I'll make sure we get it on record!"

Back with Naruto, Arthur and Sieg, the two deserters just held their swords in front of them, a bit awed at the display before snapping out of it and keeping their guard on high alert when Naruto returned his attention to them. "Seems like I've awakened a new level of 'all' that I currently have... Care to try it out?" Naruto asked as the pillar of light dissipated and his irises gained a prismatic-white glowing ring around them and he began to be engulfed in multiple light particles. "**Particle Rondo**." Naruto was completely engulfed by the light particles before turning into a streaking lens flare that dashed at the two deserters at an extremely high-speed and ramming them with a shoulder tackle.

"If I have to... I'll break every bone in your body and drag your asses back to the Vatican." Naruto stated firmly as he returned to his streaking light form and speed blitzed Arthur and Sieg with cuts, kicks, punches and tackles. They were able to guard against some, but most were full, clean hits. Returning to his normal form, Naruto looked to his two panting friends with a bit of regret at messing them up. But steeled himself by reasoning that it was important that he defeat them quickly, so as to not accidentally kill either of them.

Seeing that they were still a bit defiant and unwilling to give up in their goal, Naruto gave a tired sigh as he re-established distance by turning to light and dashing to a piece of elevated terrain. "This is the last attack... if you don't give up and surrender after this, I... I'll have no choice but to use lethal force." Naruto drew the Azoth Sword on his back waist and raised the Holy Sword in his left hand high in the sky as streams and particles of light began coalescing into it. The glowing ring in Naruto's irises flashing brightly as he raised the Azoth Sword up as well, overlapping with the Holy Sword before both combined into one blade of pure, golden and prismatic-white light that was just as tall as the pillar earlier, but more thin and focused. Naruto returned his gaze down to Arthur and Sieg as they made one last attempt to defend against him, the whiskered boy simply closing his eyes as he whispered and let his blade slowly descend, "**Koukouhazan(Exalted Divide)..."**

* * *

"Amen!" Winds raged violently as Raynare had a shocked look on her face, which was a bit contorted because of the crimson-colored armored fist punching it. So violent were these winds that they managed to shred what little there was of her skimpy bondage clothing and send her flying into a concrete wall, simultaneously dispelling the bounded field that had trapped Irina and possibly marked her usual bridge en route to home as her grave site.

Despite all the dried blood, sweat and tears on the brunette's somewhat injured face, she managed to beam a cute smile for herself at managing to beat her first actual opponent solo. Granted, it took a lot out of her, and the weird red thing on her left arm awakening at the last second to give her something to beat the everliving snot out of the Fallen Angel, after the raven-haired dominatrix disarmed her of her Light Sword, which was now broken by the hilt and tossed away. The Holy Sword on her left bicep still snug as a bug on a rug.

All in all, it was a good day for Shidou Irina. She would need to redouble her self-training, but it wasn't a bad result for her first try at a solo battle. After all, she was now one step closer to both her dream and being able to figuratively walk alongside her Naruto-kun and Xenovia-chan. Though she would have to think up a way to sneak into her room and treat her wounds first. "Ehehe~, I... win..." Irina managed to make a victory pose with a peace sign.

She soldiered herself to begin walking home, but something lodged itself in her stomach and caused her to fall to her knees as her mind began to shut down. Her horror-filled eyes managing to glance downwards to see a blue Light Spear with a large hollowed middle piercing her gut before dissipating and spraying the pavement with more of her blood. The light leaving her eyes as she fell to her side and her body began to shut down as well. One last thought coming through before she truly left the world of the living. _"Naruto-kun..."_

* * *

"Who the hell are you... you bastard...!?" Naruto managed to spat out as his head, which was turned to the side, gazed at the interloper who prevented him from carrying out the last attack he was going to use to stop Arthur and Sieg from leaving their bonds behind. His hands were bloody from gripping the blade of an elegant spear of undoubted fine craftsmanship. He was an older boy, likely older than Sieg and had deep-black hair with an equally-dark blue tint, piercing red eyes and a rather dashing face. He wore an outfit that had the top half of a Gakuran, a type of uniform worn by boys during the season of Autumn, and the lower half of Ancient Chinese design.

The intruder just smirked before violently yanking out the spear lodged in the whiskered blonde's chest cavity, letting him fall face-first onto the floor. Naruto managed to twist his head enough to continue his angry glaring at the man, who flicked the spear he held clean of his blood. "While it will serve you no true purpose, my name is Cao Cao. It is the name you can curse for all eternity as you wander the afterlife wallowing in despair."

"Hehe... that's really... cheesy..."

Spitting out blood as his senses began shutting down as well, Naruto crawled up with all the strength he had left before his body functions can leave him and tried stabbing Cao Cao with his Azoth Sword, who simply kicked his hand away and stabbed him again with the spear he held, killing him instantly without being able to do anything other than lie in a pool of his own blood. While amused at the defiance, Cao Cao no longer gave it anymore thought as he flicked his spear clean before looking at it curiously when it made some kind of humming noise. "We're done now, aren't we? Let us go my fellow Heroes."

"You didn't have to kill him!" Arthur yelled angrily as a little girl in a blue and white witch outfit and a blue witch hat ran up to him and hid behind his back. She had curly blonde hair and the same shade of blue eyes as Arthur did. "He would have tired himself out either way! We could have brought and convinced him to join us!"

"Humph. Irrelevant. He was not qualified to join our cause anyway." Cao Cao retorted, bending down to pick up the Holy Sword Naruto used only for spikes of light to erupt from the hilt and impale his hand. "A sentient sword... What a shame." The spear-wielder wrapped his butchered hand in some bandages and spun on his heel to leave. "I understand that the bonds of your friendship was strong-"

"Is" Arthur and Sieg corrected in sync, truly feeling regret at the turn of events.

"-is strong." Cao Cao continued, respecting the insistence of his future subordinates. "But he was becoming a hindrance and was wasting too much of our time. For in a world without God, what is more important to you? Your friends or your sister? Or for Siegfried's case, your mother? Familial bonds are definitely stronger than friendship. After all, it would only be a matter of time before the Church begins sending out the Inquisitors to hunt down Magicians. Thanks to those fools in Hexennacht."

"Not in front of Le Fay!" Arthur reprimanded, covering his little sister's ears.

"Apologies. And while she is not in similar danger, your Valkyrie mother could have been targeted by the more radical officials for simply doing her duties of recruiting Einherjar. Of course, if she was still on active duty." Cao Cao said, looking over his shoulder directly into Sieg's green eyes. "The moment you learned the truth about God's death, was the moment you and your families were in danger of being silenced to keep the secret. Imagine how fervent they would be in their hunt if they found out what they really were, hm?"

"Rest assured. You and your families will be safe with us. The Hero Faction is a group of talented Humans that fight for Humans. It is by our hands that the world we live in will change into a world where Humans no longer have to suffer from the petty wars these Gods and other supernaturals wage against each other. We are the shepherds of a New Era!" Cao Cao declared dramatically before continuing on his merry way. Sieg and Arthur following suit, with Le Fay trailing behind her brother. The two boys left behind spared one last glance to their fallen friend and muttered a simple apology before following Cao Cao to their rendezvous point.

Once they were gone and the downpour began to dwindle, a rip in space began appearing next to Naruto's body. The rip looked like it lead to some kind of cloudy sky with a pink hue. A minute passed as the rip grew in size and a young boy with messy, dirty-blonde hair wearing a large, white overcoat stepped out of the rip and knelt down next to Naruto's dead body. "Dear, dear... You won't find out the truth of the world if you die this early... Honestly, I blame the friends you made..." A vibrant green crystal appeared in the grip of his thumb and index finger, and using his other hand, flipped Naruto on his back and placed the crystal on his chest. "This should do something about that pathetic healing of yours... Don't disappoint me now."

The mysterious boy stood back up and re-entered the spatial rip and closing it behind him. Just before a busty, blue-eyed, blonde girl entered the area from the far side of the clearing. Her eyes widening in great concern as she shouted his name and ran up to the whiskered blonde's body, which was slowly repairing itself.

"Naruto!"

* * *

"Shidou-senpai... I'm sorry..." Koneko apologized as minute amounts of tears began pooling in her eyes. Wiping it off in her sleeve, she took out a small, square piece of paper with a drawing of some kind of circle in it, which glowed a bright red light, which died down to reveal the buxom form of Rias Gremory.

"Koneko? What are you-" Rias began to question to her servant, only to receive her answer as the white-haired girl cradled the dead body of Shidou Irina in her lap. "Are you sure about this, Koneko? She may end up hating you..."

"It was my fault Shidou-senpai got killed." Koneko answered with a nod that did not have the slightest bit of hesitation. "I wasn't paying attention when the Fallen Angel arrived. And I didn't take into account that there were others... Please hurry, Buchou... other Exorcists are coming."

"I see. Tell me the whole story when I return to the clubroom, I'll take it from here." Rias ordered as Koneko nodded and gave her thanks to her King before a magic circle teleported her out of there. Rias then turned her attention the the corpse of the girl she had been keeping an eye on for the better part of the whole year she had transferred in, mostly out of wariness. Which then shifted into curiosity when she and the Student Council President noticed a dormant power within her. "An Exorcist, eh? Not a bad choice, considering the power of Light against Devils. And a Sacred Gear user, too... Though, this will probably be a bit costly."

"It would be understandable if you hate us for this... but I'm sure your life over your dream is a fair exchange, no?" A flash of red light erupted in her hands as Rias Gremory began the ceremony.

To turn Shidou Irina into a Devil.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

First off, let me just say that I'm really thankful to those showing their support for this story by Fav/Follow/Review or even those just keeping an eye out and seeing where it goes. My expectations for those 3 stats were actually lower than their current number. Granted, it's been like 3 weeks since I posted anything.

Now, the reason why this took so long is because I had to overhaul it many times. One, because I wasn't sure about doing an immediate time skip or show a bit of their life at Exorcist camp. And two, because there were two events that I felt needed to be shown on-screen and when I separated these two into two chapters, the filler/padding I added was actually not enough. I assure you, next chapter (if people still care) won't take as long as this did.

Now, for those confused, I didn't put Irina on the character slot just because she's the main love interest. She's the other protagonist of the story alongside Naruto. Fear not. It won't be like 'Eternity' in that they will reunite in the 'Excalibur Arc', Naruto will meet up with her again soon. As for her having Boosted Gear... well, the damn gauntlet is kinda integral to the plot(BOOSTO!), and I pretty much gave clear hints as to what became of Issei. Also, Kiba is gender flipped here. ;p Also apologies for any OoC-ness.

A minor detail, but for added ambiance try playing Guilty Crown's Bios during the scene where Naruto awakened the Holy Sword, especially if you can sync it well. It played on my playlist when I was writing that part and found it oddly fitting and similar to the First Void scene. Also, the reason why it alternates between Irina and Naruto's scenes as they awakened their respective power-up is supposed to be like that split-screen with one-half of a person's face with the other side of another person's (like Tobi and Kakashi).

I know despite the beefy-ness that it was more on specific descriptions and the action may be a bit dull, but like I said, I'm still fairly new. So I probably need to work up on a lot of things. Like the talking with the ghost/spirit of the Holy Sword scene, which was definitely rushed.

So, if you're still interested leave a Review(hey, you can't Fav/Follow twice right?)! And if you're one of those who has more to say than "Update soon!" or "good chapter!", then be constructive in your criticism and/or tell me where and what can I improve on(just not update speed, since I am working on that already). Any questions are free to be asked via PM or Review!


	3. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

**Disclaimer: First Chapter.**

* * *

"_Wake up! If you don't, I'll kill you~! Wake up if you don't want to get killed~!"_

Shidou Irina raised her arm out of the sheets to clock out the alarm clock Issei lent her the night prior, when her owns' batteries ran out and had to be replaced. "This thing gave me such a weird dream. Issei-kun needs to get a better alarm clock, this thing is just plain creepy." She mumbled before taking her face off her pillow, and rolling on her side to sit up on the edge of her bed. Her hand idly drifted to somewhere above her stomach, the exact spot where the blue Light Spear impaled her at in her very vivid dream.

Naruto once talked about how dreams often relate to a person's psyche before they fall asleep. But that made her even more confused. What emotion would most relate to a dream about being killed? Not dying. Being killed. The answers were obvious, but all of them contradicted Irina's usual feelings of cheer and energy. True, she was only human and has felt those emotions, but not recently if memory serves right. She had very few things to get mad about, she had a healthy school life with a good amount of friends, and she rarely envied others to the point of self-deprecation anymore.

"_Then again, he always did like talking about random things..."_ Irina thought in memory of her best friend as she went about getting changed for another day of school. Strapping her messenger-type school bag across her shoulder, Irina headed downstairs, grabbing a slice of buttered toast Mrs. Hyoudou prepared and rushed out the house after securing her shoes on. She found it a bit odd that the sun seemed to have increased in intensity today, but shrugged it off as just an effect of the lack of clouds in the sky.

Though she most likely dreamed about dying because of Issei's creepy clock, she was certain the fight with Raynare really happened. She was missing one of her Light Sword hilts, which were all kept in a case within her bag. So she assumed the other Exorcists in the city likely found her collapsed and used the Church-sanctioned Healing Magic to treat her injuries before bringing her home. And it was because of that experience that Irina jogged to school earlier than usual, so she can get in an extra hour of training in addition to the hours she'll spend after school.

Although, the sudden heatwave she was feeling might lessen her overall time either way.

Arriving at Kuoh's gates after taking the scenic route to build up leg strength, the energetic brunette rushed past the calmly walking form of the crimson-haired Rias Gremory. Irina didn't know why, but she had the sudden impulse to do a double-take as she ran past the redhead, briefly meeting Rias' gaze while her body continued making its way to the gymnasium behind the New School Building. She only just saw her yesterday, but she felt a strange and foreign sensation she couldn't pinpoint the nature of during their brief stare down.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Rias briefly stopped in her tracks when she met the cheerful brunette's brief yet curious gaze. It was a gaze Rias herself inwardly shared while her outward appearance maintained its usual calm and graceful look. But it was not just curiosity she had on her mind. There was also dread. Yes, the Crimson Haired Ruin Princess was feeling a bit of fear. Not of danger to her own life, but for Irina's. In contrast to said brunette, Rias and the others of her kind have been watching her closely. Close as in: 'the childhood friend you were living with is actually monitoring you' kind of close.

After all, Irina was an Exorcist. They were basically the foot soldiers of the Angel Faction, and therefore the enemy of their race, the Devils. And as a part of a famous saying goes 'Know thy Enemy'. Hence, they had to monitor her and thus, knew a good bit about her through Issei's information. It helped that Irina was a very friendly person, if a bit oblivious to the fact that majority of the friends she made in Kuoh were Devils. The only noteworthy normals being the other two in Issei's usual posse, the 'Perverted Trio's' proxy member Kiryuu Aika, and a few members of the Kendo Club.

And that is where her dilemma comes in. They knew Irina was a very devout Christian, and probably the only one in the school. Rias feared Irina's reaction if she ever found out she became a Devil, which is an inevitability, when Koneko's information of the night prior revealed that the now-former Exorcist 'was' being targeted. Thankfully, the Fallen Angels that attacked Irina were either too stupid or conceited to dispose of a body, so they probably don't know she's still alive.

Moving on, Irina was like a bomb waiting to explode the moment she found out the soul-crushing truth that her dream was now so far-off from her reach that it wasn't even funny. What would she do once the cat was out of the bag? Rias definitely knew that Irina wouldn't be so accepting of her fate unless she was bipolar to the point of insanity. The Gremory heiress at least expected that there will definitely be some, if not a lot of animosity. After all, it wasn't the first time she converted a follower of Christianity into a Devil, either.

In fact, Rias had to think a lot last night about what she was going to say to the brunette once it did happen, to the point that she couldn't even think about how having a former Exorcist in her ranks would help her with 'that'. And while she doubted it could happen with its ridiculously small chance, Rias wasn't so foolish as to rule out even the possibility of suicide. Humans, former or not, were very unpredictable after all.

"You may want to get a move on. Not only are you blocking the way, but I'm starting to hallucinate because of all the... what's the term? 'Yuri-yuri' fantasies some of the male students are making even with a simple, brief eye-lock." A calm, cool and familiar voice said from behind Rias, snapping the Gremory heiress out of her thoughts and turning around to greet the speaker.

"Good morning to you too, Sona." Rias greeted to the form of her fellow Devil heiress and long-time friend Sona Sitri, better known to the school's normal populace by her alias Shitori Souna, the Seito Kaichou or in English: the Student Council President. She was a girl of similar age to Rias, with short, black hair in a bob cut with a simple, yellow hair clip on both sides. Calculative violet eyes behind a pair of red, oval-shaped thin-rimmed glasses and a fair skin-tone. She wore the Kuoh Girls Uniform normally like most others, and was the Third most popular girl in the school. While she wasn't as buxom as Rias, she more than made up for it with her crazy-high intellect, dedication and strict, no-nonsense personality that greatly appealed her to the submissive-types. "And what do you mean by 'yuri-yuri'? I'm sure that a simple gesture like that is hardly a hint of romantic interest."

"As a Devil, you shouldn't underestimate the power of imagination." Sona joked with her cool smile still in place. After Irina disappeared into the distance, she and Rias resumed their walk towards the school building casually, greeting those who greeted them but mostly keeping their attention to themselves. "Hyoudou-kun told me what happened. But I'm afraid I would need a bit more details before I can actually comment on the course of action you took."

"She was being targeted." Rias began, as she and Sona entered the school building. There weren't many students yet since it was still early, so they had no need to worry about anyone overhearing their conversation. "I have Koneko keep an eye on her whenever Hyoudou-san is doing his duties with you. From what she told me last night, one of the Fallen Angels, a woman, approached her in a male disguise and asked her for a date. And when Shidou-san refused and called her out on her ruse, she revealed her identity and trapped Shidou-san in a bounded field."

"And what was Toujou-san doing during this time frame?"

"She wasn't paying attention until the Fallen Angel stripped her disguise off. Koneko just assumed that it was just a normal run-of-the-mill teenager." Rias answered as she and Sona entered their classroom on the third floor after climbing the main stairway. "Shidou-san emerged victorious and awakened her Sacred Gear in the process. But from the wounds she had when Koneko called me, it seems it was far from being an easy one. Then, when she was about to head home, another Fallen Angel, a male and likely the previous one's comrade, threw a Light Spear that dealt the killing blow before he took his partner's body and flew off."

"I assume that Toujou-san was unable to make it to her before impact due to her piece attribute?" Sona asked with a contemplative look as she and Rias sat at their assigned seats in the classroom.

"Correct. But also because another one got in her way, but did not stay long and opted to retreat with her comrades." Rias added, making Sona nod in understanding. "Koneko called me in with one of her fliers and asked me to reincarnate Shidou-san despite knowing the outcome." Sona just looked at Rias with a curious gaze, wanting to know what Rias thought of the matter at the time it happened. The Gremory heiress knew what the look Sona was giving her meant, so she didn't need to ask and just continued, "I'll admit, I was excited at the prospect of having her. But when I took out my Evil Pieces, I debated with myself if I should really go through with it."

Rias paused in her explanation by standing up, heading to and looking out the window, where she spied Irina in one of the fields and currently in Kendo training gear, making practice swings with a Shinai. "From what Koneko told me, Shidou-san wanted to become an accomplished Exorcist like her parents. Nothing I could have done would have given her a chance at that dream ever again. If I did nothing and let her stay dead, her body would be found brutally murdered the next day. I'm certain you know what would happen if that were the case?"

Sona gave a nod to show she did know. "The story will be all over the news. Putting the city on high alert for an untraceable killer. Kuoh Academy will be put under investigation that will bear no fruit. And the case will be left unsolved, leaving no resolution nor closure. At least to the normal people. Disposing of the body would have the same effect because of a sudden disappearance, as well as putting you in a bad light from both Toujou-san and some of my own." Rias nodded at Sona's assessment. The black-haired girl mentally patting Rias on the back for her foresight on how such a move could affect the normal world.

They need not discuss what the supernatural side would do, since it would mostly be the same but with Exorcists and maybe an Angel investigating instead of the police. Then there was their cute little servants who were friends with her, likely go behind their back and hunt down the Fallen Angels responsible, which could very well lead to a war between the Three Factions again. Rias and Sona would reprimand them, but wouldn't be able to truly fault them if they did. Knowing they would have likely done the same if it were one of their servants.

Slim chance and foolish it may be, but some wars have started for stupider reasons.

"I couldn't even focus when I was reciting the ceremony's incantation." Rias continued after Sona gave a nod telling her to continue. "I knew that she will be far from happy once she found out. After all, she lived her whole early life as a devoted servant of God..." Rias and Sona flinched as a quick spike of pain struck them in the head for the redhead speaking the Lord's name. "... And in a single night, all of it was taken away from her. I do expect her to hold some resentment, and though it will take a while, I sincerely hope she comes around eventually."

"I see." Sona nodded approvingly, already summarizing that Rias has thought her actions through and is prepared to endure and deal with the risks. "Though, I think it would be wise if you contacted Beelzebub-sama as well. Surely it wouldn't hurt to ask about the possibility..." The bespectacled girl added with Rias nodding her head in agreement at the idea. Sona stood up from her desk and headed for the door, glancing over her shoulder before speaking up again, "On to other matters, what will you be doing about the matter with these Fallen Angels lurking about?"

"Nothing, unless they make a move against my cute, little servants... including her." Rias said firmly, finally taking her gaze off the brunette girl she was watching spar with the equally-cheerful, reddish-brown haired, brown-eyed member of Sona's peerage, Meguri Tomoe. The redhead left the window as her crimson hair billowed dramatically with her turn, joining Sona in exiting their classroom and taking a walk around campus before class began. "So, have you heard about the sighting of a pillar of light in southern Europe? It was all over the news this morning..."

Rias began, starting a new topic about current events, disappearing from the window at exactly the same moment Irina felt someone watching her. The brunette briefly taking her eyes off her sparring partner and looking to the same, yet now-empty window before returning her attention to blocking an overhead strike.

* * *

"_How much power can one person hold before it corrupts them?"_

"_This is... Where am I?"_ Naruto mentally asked to no one in particular as his blue eyes scanned the area he found himself in. It was a transparent, crystalline floor above a vast desert with the floor itself having a checkerboard-pattern that alternated between clear and foggy, similar to those high-horse glass chess sets. Behind him was a fully-clear, crystal staircase that stretched all the way down back to the desert. But what really caught his attention was the large, marble structure some distance away from his position, and the equally large golden clock-face that seemed to bar his way from it seeing as the glass road just went through it.

"_Okay... I'm definitely dreaming then..."_ Naruto surmised. Having stayed very far away from every detrimental vice known to modern man, dreaming was the only plausible reason he was here. He may be a cut above regular humans, but even he knew that waking up immediately the day after nearly crossing Death's door was highly unlikely. _"Unless I'm supposed to traverse what's likely the Sahara, I'm going off the hunch that I need to step forward..."_

And by doing just that, black clouds of mist came out of nowhere and began pooling together a fair distance from the clock face, obviously barring his way forward. The dark mist coalesced, stacking on top of each other as they made a human-like shape, the fog clearing slightly as the shape was given more detail in the form of a full set of abyssal-black plate armor. It was so dark that not even the desert sunlight seemed to reflect on it, as if the armor was swallowing the light. A spark ignited on the armored figure's spiked shoulder plates before bright red flames erupted and flickered sporadically as it stayed lit, yet seemingly not burning the figure at all.

A bit amazed at the display, Naruto let out a whistle as he decided to comment, "Not ba-" An equally black cape with a dark-red inside suddenly flared to life and draped behind the armored figure, softly billowing in the hot desert breeze. "Okay... I was gonna say that you needed a cape, but I guess it wasn't really necessary, huh?" Clearly, the getup was made for pure intimidation factor and not really for practicality. It was obviously searing out here!

Before more words could be exchanged, black mist gathered once again in front of the figure, forming what Naruto easily assessed was a sword. And once the mist did clear up, he now saw said weapon stabbed on the ground in front of the figure. It was similar to a European Longsword in base shape, but instead of everything being black like the armor's finer details, the blade of the sword was a deep, blood-red color. The armored figure grabbed the hilt and pulled out the weapon, holding the blade near its helm, where after a brief flash of red light, the red blade's edges became coated with dancing black flames. "Oh, come on! What's with you and all this fire!? In case you didn't know it's like 90 degrees out here!"

Sadly, his attempt at trying to avoid a fight seemed futile as the armored figure took a menacing step towards him. Each step made created a resounding and noticeable echo, thanks to the metal of the armor tapping on the surprisingly sturdy glass. As he breathed out a tired sigh, he saw the figure was just a bit of distance from him and was pointing the infernal sword at him challengingly, yet not speaking a word. "Fine, fine. Let me guess, I gotta beat you to wake up or something? I swear, it's like fisticuffs is the minimum requirement to solving all life's problems these days..."

With a flick of his wrist, Naruto was immediately armed with one Light Sword on each hand, twisting them into reverse grips as the hardened-light blades flared to life. The right becoming a Shortsword, while the left had an average-length one. "What? Not gonna make the first move? Then I'll gladly start for us!" Naruto quickly charged in with a high-slash meant to cut the head off. While he detested killing, he reasoned that this was just a dream and was thus allowed to bend his rules a bit.

Not that it mattered, since the figure easily blocked the attack and pushed him away yet made no move to retaliate. "This is gonna be annoying." The blonde commented, before he took a glance at his sword to see it burning with the same black flames like the one on his opponent's, yet it was noticeably corroding the hardened light blade. _"What the hell? Are these **Amaterasu** flames?"_ Acting quickly, he tossed the sword away to prevent the flames from encroaching onto his arm and burn him, immediately calling for another Light Sword to take its place.

Glancing at the figure with his suspicion unhidden, Naruto decided to get some answers, "Oi! Are you an Uchiha by any chance?" He asked, piecing together the action the figure did earlier when it brought its blade up to where its face likely was as the point where it unleashed the **Amaterasu**.

"Hmph... I see you've picked up some new tricks, and yet..." Though a new voice just entered the field, Naruto could tell it wasn't coming from the armored figure, who now went on the offensive by making a few quick slashes that the blonde easily parried. But because of the inextinguishable flames, Naruto had to immediately replace his Light Swords with new sets each time he did. Naruto resumed dueling with the armored figure, attempting a diagonal slash from both swords meant to crush guards with the sheer force. "Your skills mean nothing if you have no desire to use them!" But his attack was easily parried in return, and because of the unstoppable forward momentum the slash required, he stumbled forward after the parry and was kicked on his behind with an armored boot. "Do you actually think you can succeed in your trial like this? Don't make me laugh, Naruto!"

"_Trial? Don't tell me I'm getting saddled with that crap again!?"_ Naruto assessed with a bit of distaste and bitterness, standing back up and discarding his burning swords for a new set again. The armored shadow charged in with a series of high-speed thrusts intent on impaling the blonde, who responded to the attack by continuously weaving back to evade being stabbed and burned.

"Your life... Your history is soaked in blood. Did you think a second chance would change that?" The thrusts shifted into wide slashes, but Naruto kept up evasive maneuvers rather than blocking so as to not waste any more time switching weapons. But his rhythmic evasion had come to an end when he was forced to block an attack due to being dangerously close to the platform's edge, his two swords deadlocking with the armored shadow's as the back flames crawled onto his Light Swords and began corroding them. "Your foolishness has made you weak and stagnant. Conflict follows your heritage, and that adversity is what made you strong. But the peace you've enjoyed made you a pathetic shell of your former self. Time waits for no man, and alongside Time exists Fate, the bearer of cruelty."

"Jeez, can you get any more cliche?" Naruto commented sarcastically, pushing away the shadow's sword and rolling away from the edge to give himself some breathing room. Tossing his used swords away, Naruto then grabbed his long hair and used a new blade to cut it short, due to one of the ends being slashed and the black flames slowly turning the clump of hair into ash. _"One more point down in trying to emulate Jiraiya-sensei..."_

"Your trial is cruel. Almost unbearably so. To even have the slightest glimmer of hope to survive it, you will need power. You need to become strong again, for you cannot be weak. Weakness will only get you and many others killed. Put an end to your selfish desire for self-peace and seek out what you lost! Only then will you have the power and the right to stand in front of this door and face your trial!"

A black and evil-purple glyph materialized in front of the armored shadow before the creature punched the glyph, causing a blast of dark energy to shoot out from the symbol and head straight for Naruto. Thinking quickly, the blonde Exorcist didn't waste any time into calling for both the magic-boosting Azoth Sword and his Holy Sword as he remembered a spell he can use to counter, "Light shine through and banish the darkness!" Similar to the shadow's glyph, a similar one appeared in front of the blonde in a gold and prismatic white color, shooting out an equally radiant beam of light energy that battled its dark counterpart for supremacy in breaking through. _"Tch... It's a tough one... Probably overloaded!" _Naruto thought, trying his best to maintain his upkeep of mana as his beam of light began pushing the darkness back. Though the ferocity of the darkness increased, Naruto's light remained strong and managed to break through, enveloping and overwhelming the shadow.

A flash of black.

Fading light. Starry sky. Tears. Anguished cry. Blood. Shooting stars. Laughter. A quiet house. Silver curtains. Blade of red. Pitch-black darkness that absorbed all light. Sword sparks. Eye of red. Bats and Crows. Doves. Yellow curtain. Light. Sunshine. Blood again. Rain. Shredded Great Tree. Scarred land.

Blurry and vague images flew sporadically across the eyes of Naruto's dream self as said mental representation was stabbed from the back by the sword of the armored shadow. But such an underhanded maneuver was not completely unexpected, as the blonde's Holy Sword was now held in a reverse-grip that stabbed the living shadow as well. While Naruto's light purified the shadow, the black flames slowly spread across his body, burning his dream self alive as he heard the voice earlier speak once again.

"But then, that just raises the question... How much power can you hold before it corrupts you? Uzumaki Naruto!"

* * *

No words nor sounds other than a startled gasp escaped Naruto's mouth as he woke up from his peaceful slumber. Eyes of brilliant blue that snapped open, came to the sight of a plain white ceiling with a fluorescent light fixture that was turned off some ways away. Turning his head to the side, Naruto saw sunlight filtering in through an open window where the midday breeze made the white curtains billow gently. There were some common furnishes, but the rest of the room was mostly plain white and the sterile smell common in hospitals was pungent in the air.

Bringing a hand up to rub the sleep off his eyes, Naruto sat up shortly after to properly get up. His other hand subconsciously scratching the center of his chest, the place where he was stabbed both times by Cao Cao's spear and the Dark Knight's burning blade, absently noting that there was no signs of stitches nor a scar. _"At least I still have a shot at a modeling career."_ He joked to himself, relieving some unease he didn't realize was there.

The blonde boy tossed the bedsheets to the side and got off his bed, heading to a suitcase that was sitting next to the side of a cushioned armchair. Upon reaching out to it, Naruto saw that the back of his right hand was now marked with a black tattoo of a circle with eight quadrilateral 'kites', the cardinal ones being longer, encircling the circle to mimic the sun. _"Wasn't really one for tats... But hey, nothing a glove can't fix."_ He channeled his mana to flow towards the tattoo, which turned into a golden color that emitted a warm glow. Knowing this wasn't a storage rune he personally drew on his body, Naruto stepped away from the suitcase just in case things got... explosive. He didn't want to go home wearing a dinky hospital gown. That would only serve to make his mother worry about him, and his sister would likely bawl her eyes out laughing at him.

Just as he expected, a bright flash of golden light similar to a lens flare erupted from his hand, which grabbed what felt like some kind of cylindrical object within the blinding light. The flash died down just as fast as it came and in Naruto's hands was his Holy Sword, revealing that the still-glowing golden mark on his hand was the weapon's personal storage seal. _"Huh... I honestly expected it to be a Katana or something like that..."_ Now that he was no longer in some kind of battle, he was able to think more and get a better look at his Holy Sword rather than performing his duty. It was likely because of the missing pieces, but when Naruto held the Holy Sword, he felt the same unknown-yet-warm feeling he did when he first received it during the brief instance in what was likely his new mindscape.

The blade's general appearance was similar to a European Longsword's but its light weight easily let it be wielded with one hand if wanted. Unlike normal swords, which usually had silver or silver-white blades, this had a plain white blade that had no clearly-defined edge. But by using a strand or two of his hair he plucked out, Naruto was able to confirm that the weapon was both crazily sharp and was double-edged, true to its base design. On both of the blade's flat sides was a gold, needle-like line that ran from the guard to one-quarter away from the tip in length. The complexly-designed guard was predominantly gold and had black accents that matched the pommel on the other end of the cylindrical hilt, which could fit two hands and also had a gold line running through it. There was no need for a sheath or scabbard, since the weapon was sealed in a pocket dimension and Naruto wasn't really one for using Iaijutsu like one of his classmates and Upperclassmen.

Despite the metal hilt having no cloth or leather grip, a few practice swings didn't seem to make the weapon lose traction while in his hands. It didn't even turn hot nor cold when he left it untouched in direct sunlight or in front of the air-conditioning unit. Even poking it during these tests kept it at the same warm temperature it was when it was fully in his hands. _"Whatever, that's a plus in my book..."_ He nodded appreciatively, making a mental command for the weapon to return. The Holy Sword's form was enveloped in gold light before it dispersed into similarly-colored particles and streams of light that flowed back to the seal on his hand, which returned to its inactive black color.

"How does it feel to have finally regained something that you lost?"

Looking over his shoulder with a bit of alarm, Naruto caught sight of pale-skinned young male with bushy, dirty-blonde hair and aqua-blue eyes under a pair of thick eyebrows sitting in a 4-figure position on his bed. He wore a featureless black bodysuit and boots under what looked like a hooded, white lab coat and was busy spinning some kind of necklace on his left forefinger, while his smirking face rested atop his right fist that was propped up on his thigh. Though he was unarmed, the fact remained that this person, who was never there before, somehow entered this room without so much as a sound or presence until he announced his entry, and Naruto was the best in their circle of friends when it came to using Sensory abilities.

Already knowing all his weapons and tools were stripped from him the moment they put him in this dinky hospital gown, Naruto couldn't help but tense in anticipation, ready to re-summon his Holy Sword in case things took a violent turn. "Not gonna answer? That's fine. But it's good that you're properly paranoid about me. After all, I did show up out of nowhere. But you need not worry. I didn't come here to fight."

"I'll be the judge of that. Liars aren't exactly a rarity, no matter where you are." Naruto rebutted, which only served to intensify the amusement of the other person.

"I suppose." The other blonde agreed with a shrug. "So, aren't you going to ask me who I am?"

"Let me guess... You're supposed to be some kind of spiritual guide that will point me in the direction of some stupid 'Chosen One' or some vague destiny crap?" Naruto said with no amount of his sarcasm and distaste for the title hidden, which only served to amuse the other occupant in the room further by the looks of it. Naruto himself turned his body fully to face the other blonde, but the calm intimidation factor he was going for was slightly ruined by the ridiculousness of his current outfit.

"Oh? So you don't like being a 'Hero' anymore? That's cute." The dirty-blonde boy commented as he tossed the necklace to Naruto, who caught and observed it in his hand, remembering that it was the pendant that came with his weapon. It was a simple gold token on a black cord necklace, round, slightly-spherical and no bigger than his palm. On both sides of the token was a black design of a teardrop in the middle space of a 'U-shape' that had five spikes pointing outwards, one pair on the ends pointing diagonally upwards, another pair on the lower half pointing diagonally downwards and the last spike directly on the bottom pointing straight down. "I suppose I am what you assume I am. But also 'not' at the same time."

The intruder added, taking Naruto's attention away from the pendant and commenting, "I see that you didn't forget to bring the vagueness as well."

"Comes with the package, I'm afraid." He chuckled lightly as Naruto placed the pendant in his free hand to keep his guard up. "Now then, I am not much of a guide... more like an observer that heavily favors your success in your future trial."

"And what pray tell, is this trial you speak of?" He asked with suspicion, finding some similarities in the voice tone of the mysterious blonde and the voice in his recent dream.

"No need to be so hasty. There is a time and place for everything, especially fulfilling destinies." The chiding wag of the other person's finger only served to elicit a roll of Naruto's eyes. "But you can rejoice in the fact that yours cannot be fulfilled unless you regain your former power, as well as having the blank points in your head filled." The strange blonde explained as he then pointed his finger at Naruto. "As you are right now, you stand absolutely no chance against what is to come unless you do so. You can delude yourself by resolving to no longer chase after the fading vapor trails, but this is an inevitability. If you don't grow in power in this world, then people around you will start dying."

"Is that a threat?" The blonde asked. Though his face was impassive, his tone made it apparent that he temporarily placed his levity in a box and set it aside.

"I merely state the truth." The other occupant in the room shrugged uncaring, knowing that as he was right now, the most Naruto could do was nick his cheek, and only if he was caught off-guard which was not going to happen anytime soon. "One decision can easily be all it takes for a death to end up becoming meaningless. Do you really think you can live with that guilt? Knowing you could have prevented it by simply being a good boy and doing what you're told? Time waits for no man, Naruto. If you don't work towards becoming stronger, you WILL see 'your' peaceful world come crashing down before your very eyes."

"..."

"Lucky for you, I don't need an answer crafted from words." He continued, snapping his fingers as a door-shaped rip in space opened up behind him, revealing an endless horizon of a sea and sky tinted in a magenta hue. "In a non-creepy-stalker kind of way, I'll always be watching you. All major actions you take from this point on will be the only answer I'll need to judge whether or not you are ready to face your fate..." He finished stepping into the rip, which closed after him as Naruto refrained from demanding more answers, knowing he won't be getting straight answers anytime soon.

"Tch. I really hate that word..." Hate was an understatement. He outright detested the notions of fate, destiny and 'Chosen Ones', finding them as nothing more than the twisted entertainment the Universe likes forcing on teenagers. He wouldn't have been so embittered with it, had his first life as a Ninja not been played with like it did. He wasn't a defeatist in the slightest, but he knew that he needed to see the bigger picture before he can do anything about it.

Putting the issue in the back of his mind and returning to his previous task, Naruto walked back up to the suitcase and picked up a piece of paper attached to it. A simple note telling him that his spare weapons and tools were inside, as well as a spare bodysuit and cloak he can change into to leave the hospital with whenever he woke up. It also said that once he did, he was to report to HQ for debriefing before he went home. But what really got his attention with the note was not what it told him. Rather, it was the signature of the one who wrote it and was likely the same person who retrieved him from his failed mission.

Opening the suitcase to find his spare hilts for both Light Swords and Black Keys, Naruto took them out and began sealing them inside the storage runes he drew on his body using invisible ink. An idea popping in his head that followed that line of thought. _"Considering what's in store for me, it's not a bad idea... Gonna have to ask the Instructor if it's possible first, though."_ Finishing up with his tools, Naruto proceeded with changing into the spare standard-issue training gear he was given, casting an aside glance to the digital clock, which elicited a sigh from him upon seeing the date shown on the device as he placed the pendant in his pocket.

Now properly dressed and ready to go, Naruto slid the open window wider and began drawing on his mana. There was no need to sign out discharge papers, since Exorcist-related cases were off-record anyways. Before casting his technique, Naruto took some time to relish in the fresh breeze of a new day, the wind making his long hair and cloak billow. He knew that his day was gonna have a bad spot once he reported in, already foreseeing the higher-ups talk his ears off voicing their disappointment in his failure. It wasn't something that could easily bother him, he just disliked how they would put it as if everything was his fault. Besides, he was still technically a grunt. Sure, a highly-skilled and versatile grunt, but a grunt nonetheless. And that was only because he had absolutely no enthusiasm when it came to climbing up the ranks and dealing with the supernatural side of the world.

"Alright, let's see those old coots do their worst... **Ryusei(Meteor)**!"

That day, people watching the clouds would suddenly begin to question whether they were tripping or not when they saw a gold streak of light zipping across the skies at high speed.

* * *

"It should be around here, right?" Irina, now decked out in her Exorcist gear complete with the white cloak asked to herself as she cross-referenced the map directions and the picture sent to her phone by her hometown's Exorcist supervisor. She was in front of an old, abandoned mansion somewhere within the town's woodland annex. It was an isolated place, surrounded with thick trees on all sides and had no gates, guide lamps or asphalt roads leading to it, making it the perfect-yet-wretched hive of scum and villainy.

It had been a bit of a bad week for her, what with the heatwave affecting her more than it should have and a few arguments with the 'Princess of Kuoh' that turned into random non-lethal duels. But upon receiving an Exorcism assignment from her supervisor, she couldn't help but be excited as her energy returned full force at finally being given a chance to do some actual work. She had been exceptionally giddy with anticipation since this morning, something her friends have been pointing out throughout the span of the whole day. True, she was calm now, but that was mostly so she doesn't become needlessly reckless during the upcoming fight.

"Alright, let's do this!" She cheered to raise her fighting spirit after confirming the image on the phone was correct with the one in front of her. While there was no need for her to actually knock, she did so anyway out of habit before pushing the door open. Her senses immediately being bombarded with dead silence for hearing, the coppery scent of blood so pungent she could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue, and strangely enough, a semi-clear vision despite the absolute darkness for sight. She wasn't particularly good at it, but she quickly cast the Sensory spell she was taught by Griselda to temporarily illuminate the room and prevent getting ambushed by her target.

Using the Sensory grid, Irina was able to see the basic layout of the room like it was a line drawing, trying to spot a weakness in the ceiling or a wall to let the moonlight filter in and increase visibility while temporarily ignoring the irregular shape hiding within the shadows. Finding it at a perfect angle between a wall and the ceiling, she drew two of her spare Light Sword hilts, activating them at dagger length and threw them in the direction of the weak spots, causing the roof to collapse and let the moon's light filter in through the hole she made.

Leaping onto the new hole to better scout the place, Irina kept her eyes peeled for any signs of movement. There were tons of shadows and rubble, other than the one from the collapsed roof and wall she made, and an equal, if not more, amount of bloodstains that were both fresh and dry at some places. She was no blood spatter analyst, but even she could almost picture the obviously violent deaths that occurred in some places with the bloodstains. Gritting her teeth angrily at not preventing such a tragedy sooner, Irina had enough of scouting and threw another Light Sword she activated at where she last saw the irregular shape when the Sensory grid was up, eliciting a quick howl of pain that slowly descended into maniacal laughter.

"_That's right, underestimate me... It'll make purifying that putrid soul of yours all the easier!"_ Irina thought in response to the laughter as she leaped back down to ground level and kept her guard up. "Come out here and face me, Devil!"

"I smell something bad, but also something delicious. I wonder if it's sweet or if it's sour?" The twintailed brunette heard from a shadowed pillar across the room, the moonlight giving off enough luminescence to let Irina make out a stalking figure of a busty, naked woman, fairly attractive, if not for the fact that Irina knew this was simply a front for the monster to be able to lure her unfortunate prey into her awaiting jaws. "Or maybe a combination of both? In any case, it all becomes the same inside my mouth! Little girl, you should make a fi-"

"Time-out!"

"What?"

"I said, 'Time-out'. Am I seriously going up against another exhibitionist?" Irina complained, confusing the Devil if the brunette was even talking to her. "What is up with the lack of modesty around here!?" Not knowing nor caring on how to respond to that, the Devil woman rushed out of the shadows, revealing her true and grotesque form. Her lower body was similar to that of a furred, quadrupedal beast's with an addition of a large mouth on the abdomen that had spiky teeth that may as well have been stalagmites and a snake-like tail. Irina cringed with disgust, recalling her studies that this was the form Devils took when they killed their Master, got drunk on power and began devouring humans.

While Irina was obviously far from not paying attention, the Devil didn't know that and rushed at the brunette as if she was an easy meal. The maw on the Devil's abdomen opened wide as it crashed into the girl's position. A half-minute of chewing was heard before the Devil's mouth spat out a chunk of rubble, and only rubble. Her attempt at easily devouring Irina was an utter failure that only served to infuriate her by basically eating dirt. "You impudent child! Where are you!?" The Devil woman roared.

"Here." A faint whisper carried on the wind reached the Devil's ears before she felt a powerful impact on her face, easily sending her flying despite her larger size. Coming to a stop after rolling across the floor of the abandoned mansion, the Devil glared bloody daggers at the landing form of Irina, who temporarily discarded her white cloak and had her legs covered with a pair of black, armored, high-heeled boots, and her left arm being covered with a red scaly gauntlet that had a vibrant, green jewel on the back of the hand, claw-like fingers and two yellow spikes near the elbows. "Tell me something, Devil. How many people have you eaten?" The girl asked, hair shadowing her eyes as she waited for a response from the monster, despite already knowing what the answer would likely be.

"Too many to count?/!" The two said simultaneously, with Irina's being more like a grave, rhetorical question for confirmation compared to the Devil's rather proud exclamation as the monster got up and began fondling herself. Small and nearly unnoticeable magic circles began forming in front of the woman's nipples before they shot out a high-pressure white liquid that Irina was easily able to dodge with a jump away, thanks to how the Devil woman had to aim the attack. The brunette's previous spot was now covered with what was basically breast milk that began corroding the floor at a fast rate.

"_If Naruto-kun was here, he'd probably be palming his face right now."_ Irina thought with a fond smile before landing on the ground again and focusing her mind on the task at hand. But it seems like the Devil was getting impatient, as Irina was immediately assaulted with a barrage of acidic breast milk, prompting her to dash as fast as she can to avoid making contact with it. Avoiding the barrage was all too easy, since her eyes had gotten used to faster projectiles thanks to her teammate's skill in using throwing weapons.

Patience running thin and hunger growing insatiable, the Devil quickly stopped her barrage and returned to rushing Irina. Accepting the foolish opening the monster gave her, Irina quickly stopped dodging as her armored boots glowed a white light that shifted its shape into a device that had a spearhead attached to a long chain that was wrapped around the device's body. She aimed it to her side and with a pull of its trigger, the spearhead shot and latched onto the far-side wall before it pulled Irina to its location via the coiling chain, causing the monster to miss its target again.

But Irina wasted no time in celebrating her making a fool out of the monster, her tool shifting in shape to a simple Wakizashi that she thrust in the direction of the monster's arms, the blade elongating to ridiculous lengths as it impaled one of the arms before hundreds of spikes erupted from within the flesh, literally disarming the beast as Irina swung the elongated sword to cut off the other one and robbing the monster access from its acidic breast milk attack. The face of the woman contorted into unbridled anger, ears becoming pointed, eyes becoming bloodshot and so much fangs in her real mouth that any dentist should win a Nobel Prize just by TRYING to work on it. "DIE!" The monster roared, bringing up one of its forepaws to try and crush the girl.

The gem on Irina's gauntlet flashed a green light for a second as the twintailed girl shifted her Wakizashi into a spiked shield she used to block the incoming Devil's paw at the exact moment of impact, causing it to rebound in shock and giving Irina enough time to counter. Her gauntlet's gem flashed green again before she used it to punch the staggered paw with a force so strong, the blood vessels in the appendage ruptured and violently exploded, making it completely useless and leaving the Devil a mess on the floor that can barely stand.

But the brunette spared the Devil no quarter from her assault, and tore through the other paw by chopping it off along with the hind legs using an extra large carving knife. "Any last words before I purify you, fiend?" Irina said, her blade poised at the neck of the Devil woman, her eyes looking down in contempt at the pitiful and writhing sight of the woman's remaining torso that was practically begging for death. The Devil's evil face looked at the girl defiantly, trying to spit at her form yet gravity did not even let it travel more than a centimeter off the ground. "I see... So that's your answer. You who has callously stolen the lives of many humans, let the light of this blade purify your soul!"

Irina's gem flashed another green light, while the blade in her hands shifted into the pair of boots she had earlier. The girl leaped towards the hole in the ceiling she made and from that height used as much strength as she can muster to leap high into the air. The remains of the monster on the floor could only see a black silhouette in the center of the moon that flashed a green circle a few times. A silhouette that grew larger as it drew closer to the impact point, which to the Devil's realization and self-horror, was her.

There wasn't even any time to crawl away using her chin, as Irina dropped down single heel-first on the Devil's back, creating a blast of white light in a large radius around them, vaporizing what little remained of the evil creature in the blinding void. The light died down after a minute or so, and all that remained was Irina standing there in the crater her finishing move created. "Amen." Nothing in the immediate blast radius was left, not even ash, only the disembodied, unmoving hind legs and probably the arms she cut off earlier being all that was left.

She wasn't particularly good at Magic like Naruto was, only able to use her mana to perform basic spells. And even then, the only types of Magic the Church didn't consider heretical were the sanctioned healing and barrier spells. So she had no way of getting rid of these dismembered appendages without gathering a whole lot of wood and setting it alight. She could use her finishing move again, but that was just something she thought of on the spot and took a lot of her mana to pull off the way it did. Not to mention her Sacred Gear's strange ability to boost her power took payment by taking a toll on her stamina the more she boosted.

But she didn't need to worry about that now. After all, she-

"Ya-hoo~! Irina-chan's First Solo Mission... Cleared with flying colors!" Was extremely giddy at her success, if the accompanying victory pose was anything to- "Maybe I should have made some cool one-liner like 'Now, count up your sins!', no wait, that's way too much like Double. Ah, mou~! It sucks I missed my chance to do something like that!"

…

"Hopefully, I get sent more missions soon. Oh, I have to think up an original line before the next one!"

Clearly Irina was in her own world right now as she picked up and holstered her Light Swords, doing the same with the white cloak by fastening it around her as she exited the abandoned mansion and headed home, still talking to herself about finishing moves, one-liners and technique names.

"Most impressive." The crimson-haired form of Rias Gremory commented as she floated down into the abandoned mansion. Having been watching the fight from the skies using a minor illusion spell to cover her appearance. Accompanying her was the rest of her Peerage, consisting of the Queen: Himejima Akeno, the Rook: Toujou Koneko and a girl with long, golden-blonde hair and gray eyes that had a sword strapped to her waist, wearing the Kuoh Girls Uniform that sported a pair of black bike shorts and black thigh-high socks. She was the Knight of the group, a girl by the name of Kiba Yumi. "So, what do you guys think?"

"Ara ara, she certainly was merciless in her Execution. Just remembering all the pain the dismemberment brought to the Stray is giving me chills~!" Akeno commented sultrily as she and the others looked to what remained of the Stray Devil that wasn't obliterated in the light.

"Her swordsmanship could use some work." Yumi answered with a distant-yet-determined look.

"...Keep training with her then." Koneko retorted yet still maintaining her poker face to the blonde's assessment as she munched on a sweet tart. Yumi gave an uncaring shrug at the white-haired girl's suggestion, while Rias shook her head tiredly at the blonde's dismissal. The girl had been acting strangely ever since Irina enrolled into Kuoh last year, and even with her orders to not start any trouble, Yumi and Irina got into random arguments that lead to non-lethal sword duels that ended mostly in draws.

Of course, Rias knew why Yumi was so passively-hostile towards Irina. The girl was an Exorcist...well, former Exorcist and in a way, the Light Swords were basically bootleg versions of Holy Swords. And Yumi had issues with the sacred blades that dates back to when she was younger. "Akeno, do you remember anything in the Sacred Gear book about one that can boost power and one that can shift form and shape?" Rias asked to her Queen.

"Hm... I'm sure the one that can boost power might be related to or is a Twice Critical. As for the other, I'm not sure if there were any." The black-haired girl replied, her finger on her cheek in thought. "If the one that boosted her power is a Twice Critical, then that means her base power is not stuck at a measly 1. But without making contracts, it won't get any stronger soon either. Add in the fact that those Fallen Angels are still lurking about in our territory." She finished, with a minute amount of venom when she said the two words related to the wayward children of Heaven.

"Well, what's the verdict, Buchou?" Yumi asked after a moment of silence fell between them as they stood in the abandoned manor. "Do we call her in to the clubroom? Or are we gonna wait until those crows find out that she's still alive and spills the beans themselves?" If she were completely honest, Yumi didn't really care either way. There was no escape for Irina to not learn about her changed physiology. Hell, she had been suffering from the common symptoms of recently being turned for a whole week, yet seemingly not even noticing the differences.

"For now, we'll keep watch on her like always. Should the Fallen Angels do decide to make contact with her again, then we are to intervene immediately. If we can at least gain some ground in being in her good graces, she might take it a lot better than what we are normally expecting of her reaction. I'm sure Hyoudou-san would be glad to help us with it." Rias answered firmly after a good few minutes of internal debate. The peerage nodded in agreement with their leader, who shot a bullet of black energy at the remains of the Stray Devil, obliterating everything else that was left as a red Magic circle drew itself under them and in a flash of crimson light, they were teleported out of the area.

"Oh dear, my precious virgin ears have picked up some interesting news~..."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yeah, sorry about not meeting personally set deadlines. It wasn't a matter about the fic that was hindering me, but rather an outside force. Catch my drift? Anyways, I'm not gonna bother you guys with my personal problems. So let me say this, updates for this are going to be completely random from now on. But hey, it's my only fic, so if I can and my free time allows, I'll work on it as much as possible. So, onward to the notes~!

A lot of people have said in their Reviews and PMs about Irina possibly killing herself once she found out she was a Devil. As you can see, it's not just you but also the characters in-universe acknowledge that fact. But if you ask me, it becomes a bit of a silly point when you ask the question 'Would I really do it?'. Irina is a Main Character. Main Characters have a certain piece of armor that nothing other than itself can break. That said, I'm guessing you guys are waiting on how I handle such a thing when its time comes. It was gonna happen here, but I chose to push it back to maybe the next one or the chapter after that? Trust me, I won't drag it on if I can help it.

Another Reviewer pointed out that Irina was being weak against one-trick pony Raynare. If the wiki is to be trusted, Raynare and her group were Fallen Angels that did fall from Heaven, meaning they are at least a few centuries old. Meaning they are experienced. At the time of her first battle (which didn't show much about her combat ability anyway), Irina was a regular human in her mid-teens. Even experienced one-trick ponies can become formidable if they stop playing around or lose some of dat arrogance (not necessarily with their conceit). Plus, Irina still technically won the fight if Dohnaseek didn't stab her from behind. Hopefully, I've shown you that she's far from being weak and can utilize Excalibur Mimic's crazy transforming abilities in tandem with using the Boosted Gear. I also know that Irina's Gear is already at the Level 2 Dragon Booster already. That is not an oversight, since I'm sure she's stronger than Issei before Volume 5 and not counting his perversion power-ups.

I know there's a lot of Plot going on so early, but that is kind of an important thing in this fic. I really try to get a good blend of plot advancement, development and interaction as best as I can in each chapter. You be the judge if I'm getting it right, and please don't be shy to tell me. It may not be all bare, but hey, I have really big plans for this fic (I already pictured the ending for goodness sake!).

Someone asked me If I knew what I was doing because of my decisions. The answer is 'Yes, I do.' I already planned a good chunk of stuff about this fic that I practically picture how some things would go down as if it were an actual anime. Helps that's I'm working off the framework LifeNDeath-san gave me.

Anyways, If there are some things I missed discussing in the notes or story, feel free to talk to me about it. And as always thanks for Reviewing (be sure to do it here too~!), if I don't respond to your Reviews, then it's either you didn't say much in it to begin with or I'm purposely holding out so you don't get spoiled.

**Technique/Ability Data** (Just something I wanna try out. If you like it, I may add it on future End AN's when something new pops up)

**Dragon Tempest **– A wind technique that creates a sphere that houses thousands of shredding wind blades. The user can then cut the sphere to send the blades flying in random directions.

**Kyokkouheki (Aurora Wall)** – Creates an impregnable wall of powerful auroral light that can also heal injuries at a fast rate. User needs to stand still and can only be used during a power surge.

**Particle Rondo **– A high-speed movement technique that transforms the user's body into a streak of light that can assault enemies in such a state. This is a power surge version of **Ryusei(Meteor)**.

**Koukouhazan(Exalted Divide)** – A sword technique that consists of slamming the sword down on the ground, creating a small blast of light around the sword's impact point. Naruto mistakenly calls a similar yet stronger technique this name during his power surge.

**Amaterasu** – Inextinguishable black flames that last for seven days and seven nights. This is a special technique only accessible through the **Mangekyou Sharingan**.

**Ryusei(Meteor)** – A high-speed movement technique that converts the user's body into a streak of light. Unlike **Particle Rondo**, the user cannot attack during this state and must deactivate it before he is able to attack.

**Unnamed**

**Kyokkouken(Aurora Sword)** – A technique that combines the Holy Sword with another that can amplify Magic, creating a ridiculously large blade made of auroral light. This technique drastically increases the combined sword's reach the more mana is pulsed through it. This is merely the initial stage to the true technique hidden within.

**Divine Streak** – Basically, a laser of light shoots out from a glyph in front of the user. Has an unnamed dark-elemental counterpart as of this writing.

**Boost** – Do we need to explain?

**Excalibur Mimic Form: Dark Boots** – A pair of black, armored, high-heeled boots that offer extreme kicking power and acrobatic ability. Jumps have increased height range and user can temporarily soar through the air with certain moves. Named after a different kind of Exorcist's abilities.

**Excalibur Mimic Form: Hookshot** - A tool that lets the user zip from one place to another at high speed using a spearheaded chain to latch onto surfaces. It was basically a grappling hook. Named after a handy tool used by an adventuring boy with a green hat and tunic.

**Excalibur Mimic Form: Shinsou(God Spear)** – A Wakizashi able to extend its blade to extreme lengths at near-blinding speeds. The spiky addendum was merely an extension and not really part of the form's abilities. Named after the blade of a traitorous fox.

**Excalibur Mimic Form: Spiky Shield** – A sturdy shield that has spikes on its outer face. What else did you expect? Named after the signature move of a mutated hedgehog that likes being called a Juggernaut.

**Excalibur Mimic Form: Kubikiribouchou(Decapitating Carving Knife)** – A large Zanbatou that can repair itself after absorbing the iron in the blood of its unfortunate victim. The large blade allows for cleanly cutting large meatbags like mutated beast legs. Named after a sword Irina spied Naruto doodling on his notebook in class once.

**Irina's Rider Kick** – Unofficial name. An on-the-spot technique that somewhat imitates the KIng of VAmpires' signature attack. This uses the power of the Dark Boots to propel the user to the air and using the Sacred Gear to boost overall power to the maximum the user can handle before performing the classic dropkick. Upon impact, a blast of light courtesy of Excalibur Mimic is expunged, vaporizing the truly wicked and their ashes. Best done during full moons for the full effect.


End file.
